Family accepts body of custodial torture victim in Tamil Nadu

TENKASI/TIRUNELVELI:  After eight days of protest, relatives of M Thangasamy, who died in the Palayamkottai Central Prison on June 14, received his body from the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) on Friday. The body has been buried in Puliyangudi.

Thangasamy's mother M Karuppi agreed to receive her son's body on Thursday after district collector Durai Ravichandran, Sankarankovil MLA E Raja and Vasudevanallur MLA Sathan Thirumalaikumar met and talked with her. "Though injuries were seen on his body, we can only find the exact reason behind the death through the results of viscera examination.

Based on the results, we will offer legal support to the family. While the state government will give his family Rs 3 lakh, DMK's district unit will give them Rs 2 lakh. Our party unit has already handed over Rs 50,000 to Thangasamy's mother for the funeral. Thangasamy's brother M Eswaran will be appointed in Puliyangudi municipality temporarily. If there is any vacancy in the future, he will be made permanent," E Raja told TNIE.

Thangasamy, a construction worker hailing from the SC community was arrested by Puliyangudi police on June 11 for allegedly supplying liquor bottles to a 60-year-old woman for illegal sale. In the prison, he was said to have suffered from chest pain and breathing difficulties. Doctors declared him brought dead and his postmortem was performed on June 15 at TvMCH. The postmortem report revealed Thangasamy's body had seven irregular reddish brown abrasions. Eswaran said his brother's arrest was not informed to the family and that he was either beaten up by the police or prison authorities. He also petitioned Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tirunelveli Range, demanding him to register a case regarding the matter. Members of CPM, Joint Action Committee Against Custodial Torture, and Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front staged  protests in Tirunelveli and Puliyangudi demanding justice for Thangamani's death.

In a statement, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned the alleged custodial torture of Thangasamy. He demanded a probe by a High Court justice and legal action against the police personnel along with a compensation to the family members of Thangasamy. "The postmortem report had revealed injuries on his body. I heard Tenkasi district has 69 TASMAC outlets and only 13 of them have a license. Rest of the outlets, including three in Puliyangudi, are running bars illegally. Meanwhile, Thangasamy had been arrested with the charge of selling liquor bottles along with an elderly woman," he said, adding that the state government had failed to arrest suspended Ambasamudram ASP Balveer Singh, who was accused of removing the teeth of several suspects.

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