THOOTHUKUDI: An alleged victim of custodial torture, S Yakobu Raj (36), submitted a petition to Thoothukudi SP Jeyakumar requesting him to withdraw an FIR registered against him on a ‘bogus complaint’ forcibly obtained from S Mahendran of Peikulam. Raj said that he is another victim subjected to custodial torture by the then SI Ragu Ganesh of Sathankulam station. Ragu and nine other personnel from the station are currently lodged in jail. Mahendran died allegedly due to police excess.
FIR against Yakobu Raj
Yakobu Raj, hailing from Meerankulam, was booked under sections 294(b) (uttering filth), 387 (extortion) and 506(ii) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, based on a complaint given by Mahendran. The FIR registered against Raj, reviewed by TNIE, says he had intimidated Mahendran demanding Rs 500 to buy booze around 8 am on May 24. The FIR was registered by a constable and a copy given to SI P Balakrishnan.
However, Raj claimed that he was picked up by Ragu Ganesh the previous evening itself in order to pressurise his relative Pandararajan who was allegedly invovled in the murder of a ward member Jeyakumar, to surrender. According to Raj’s petition, the SI picked him up from Meerankulam bus stand after dusk on May 23. Accompanied by five volunteers (Friends of Police), the SI took him in a black car to an interior forest near Palaniappapuram, and beat him. “They covered my eyes with a cloth and beat all over the body and hit my buttocks brutally,” he alleged.
The petition claimed he was taken to Sathankulam police station around 10 pm the same night, and was brought nude before Inspector Srithar, who asked the SI to beat him another round. The SI flogged him even as two volunteers were holding him against the wall, the complaint said. Raj said the inspector demanded money to release him on May 24 and as he refused, the inspector asked Ragu Ganesh to beat him and lodge him in the jail.
Raj told TNIE that Ragu beat him to know the whereabouts of Pandararajan. The police escort told him that he was booked for extortion on Mahendran’s complaint, Raj said, and added he never knew Mahendran. Recalling the intensity of the pain, he said that he took proper treatment for the bleeding injuries suffered at buttocks only after he got bail on May 30. “I could not climb palm trees properly and fell down from an elevation of 30 feet,” he said to aver how far the policemen and volunteers had injured his health. When asked, top police officials did not comment on the issue, however, SP had assured Raj to take action based on the inquiry.
Kadayam custodial death: Govt submits reports
Madurai: The government submitted the status report, autopsy report and video clips relating to the alleged custodial death of Kadayam farmer before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court in a sealed cover. Justice R Pongiappan who received the report, orally noted that the autopsy indicated only four external injuries in the victim’s body. This is contrary to the claims made in the petition that during inquest the Ambasamudram judicial magistrate noted 18 external injuries. The judge also rejected request from the petitioner’s counsel seeking copy of the report and footage, and adjourned the case to Thursday.