THOOTHUKUDI: Even as inquiries are underway into the alleged custodial torture by suspended Ambasamudram ASP Balveer Singh, a 55-year-old man from Kalakudi near Manur in Tirunelveli district has alleged that Kayathar police personnel beat him black and blue after wrongly claiming that he sold palm toddy.
M Madasamy, the victim, has been receiving treatment at the 'surgical step down' ward in Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TMCH) for the past 11 days.
Madasamy climbed palm trees at Thalaiyalnadanthan Kulam village near Kayathar in the Thoothukudi district for a living. He would climb 30 to 40 Palmyra trees and extract over 60 litres of pathaneer daily. Pathaneer is a nutritious natural drink and is also used in the production of palm jaggery (karupatti). Madasamy used to sell the palm juice to roadside vendors and take home the remaining pathaneer to make jaggery.
On April 23, Kayathar police whisked away Madasamy from a palmyra groove based on a complaint that he was selling palm toddy, which is banned in Tamil Nadu. They took the 55-year-old to the police station and registered an FIR against him. Madasamy's son, M Manikandan, who is pursuing his M.Com degree, managed to secure station bail for his father and got him released from the station on the same day.
"When we were about to leave the station around 8 pm, sub-inspector Dilipan called my father back to the station. In my presence, he brutally assaulted my father on the head with his hands. Then the policeman took a polycarbonate lathi and hit my father all over his body. I was helpless as other police personnel confined me. The SI warned my father of breaking his legs if he tethered pots on Palmyra trees again," Manikandan told TNIE.
Madasamy was immediately admitted to TMCH at Palayamkottai, where he is even now under treatment for damage to his ears and acute pain in his shoulders and back. "Doctors had said if the injuries in the ears don't heal soon, my father might have to undergo surgery. They also referred him for an MRI scan as the swelling on his hip did not subside even after 10 days," he added.
It may be noted that the office of the Director General of Police (DGP) in a circular dated January 10, 2022, instructed all superintendents of police and commissioners to avoid taking action against those extracting pathaneer, and karupatti makers.
When asked if he was warned against extracting palm toddy, Madasamy said that he had stopped tapping toddy over a month ago when the pathaneer season began this year. "Until last year, it was common for all climbers to extract a few pots of toddy after giving mamool to the police. However, the present inspector put a halt to the practice, and I have not collected toddy after that," the 55-year-old said.
When the victim's family brought the incident to the attention of Thoothukudi SP L Balaji Saravanan, the office staff directed them to lodge the complaint at the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) office in Tirunelveli. However, Madasamy's second son, Maheswaran, said that he had lodged a complaint with Tirunelveli DIG Pravesh Kumar on April 24.
"The personnel at the DIG office said my father would be contacted by the Kovilpatti DSP office staff for further inquiry. But no one has contacted us so far," he added.
DIG Pravesh Kumar was unable for comments, while Kovilpatti DSP Venkatesh said he had not yet received the complaint from the DIG office.