RAMANATHAPURAM: Mystery shrouds the death of a youth picked up for interrogation by Mudukulathur police, with the family members claiming the 25-year-old was a victim of custodial torture. While the family members staged a protest in front of the Deputy Superintendent of Police office at Mudukulathur near here, Superintendent of Police Omprakash Meena was not reachable for comments.
Source said that M Manikandan (25), a resident of Mudukulathur, was brought to the station for interrogation on Thursday in connection with a theft complaint lodged by M Mahadeven, a resident of Government Hospital Street at Mudukulathur, on July 23. Manikandan was picked up for interrogation on Wednesday as well, but was let off after a short while.
“On Thursday, the policemen brought Manikandan in for the second time. They were interrogating him in connection with a case wherein unidentified assailants burgled Rs 13,000 and 16 sovereigns from the locked house of Mahadevan. Later, the burglars withdrew Rs 1.3 lakh using Mahadevan’s ATM card. Policemen on duty beat up Manikandan to force him to own up the crime. However, Manikandan died during the custodial torture. The body of the deceased was sent to government Paramakudi hospital for postmortem examination,” sources alleged.
Later in the day, the family members staged a road blockade in front of the Deputy Superintendent of Police, seeking action against the errant policemen. However, they dispersed after police assured action during a peace talk.
Court verdict
The death assumes significance in the wake of a recent judgment by a CBI special court, sentencing two Kerala police officers to death in connection with a custodial death. Assistant Sub-Inspector
K Jithakumar and Civil Police Officer S V Sreekumar were handed the punishment after one Udayakumar, was taken into custody in connection with a case of theft and died after torture by policemen