MADURAI: The CBI on Wednesday informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that it has closed the theft case filed against B Ajithkumar (29), a temple guard of Madapuram Badrakali Amman temple in Sivaganga, who was allegedly tortured to death by a special police team during interrogation in the case in June 2025.
Sources said the case was closed as there was no evidence to prove that Ajithkumar committed the theft. The HC also asked CBI as to why action can’t be initiated against JP Nikitha, whose complaint was the root cause for the custodial death of the victim.
The CBI standing counsel said the theft case was closed and a report would be filed when Justice S Srimathy inquired if the allegation of theft against the deceased was true. Shocked to hear that the victim was beaten to death over nothing, Justice Srimathy criticised the police and complainant Nikitha.
The judge was hearing a batch of bail petitions filed by four of the 10 policemen accused in the case — constables S Raja, G Prabhu, A Ananth and S Sankaramanikandan. She questioned why these many policemen targeted and assaulted the deceased and if there was any previous enmity between them.
The CBI counsel replied that there was no previous enmity and the policemen were part of a special team led by the seventh accused, former Manamadurai DSP N Shanmugasundaram. It was a case of police excess, he added. Regarding action against Nikitha, he said he has posed this question to the agency and they would answer it in the report.
Lamenting over the fate of the deceased, the judge said she is not inclined to grant bail.
Judge: Ajith case, a lesson to cops
“Let it be a lesson to the police,” she added and adjourned the case to February 16 for further hearing. Ajithkumar was brutally assaulted by police when he was being interrogated for the alleged theft of nine-sovereign gold jewels of college professor Nikitha who had visited the temple.
The CBI filed separate FIRs — one for the custodial death and another for the jewel theft. It then chargesheeted 10 policemen including the DSP in the custodial death case in August and December and has recently completed the investigation in the theft case as well.