VILLUPURAM: The family of D Raja, a 44-year-old Dalit who allegedly died due to custodial torture on April 10 after being questioned by the Villupuram taluk police over illicit sale of liquor, has demanded that police and medical professionals involved in the case be investigated for allegedly trying to conceal the truth behind the death.
R Anju, the deceased's wife, has filed a petition before the Judicial Magistrate court I in the district in this regard. Her petition has come in the backdrop of a second autopsy report, which provided more information than the first, but failed to clearly conclude the cause of death.
Anju also demanded that the CCTV footage from the police station on the particular day be provided, as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The woman had earlier approached the Madras High Court, requesting a re-postmortem to investigate possible injuries owing to custodial violence. The court ordered the district administration to exhume Raja's body and conduct a postmortem again, which was done on May 22 at Mundiyambakkam Government Medical College Hospital by doctors from Madurai and Chennai.
The two reports were accessed by TNIE. The first report, based on the exam conducted on April 10 by a government doctor from Mundiyambakkam GMCH, did not mention a sternum fracture and said the ribs and cartilages were intact, while omitting any particular observations about the lower limbs. In contrast, the second report submitted after the exam on May 22 by doctors from Madurai and Chennai GMCH, noted a sternum fracture. But, the report also said it might have been due to resuscitation efforts after death. It also noted discoloration in some parts of lower limbs, but the discolouration has not been linked to injuries. Tissue samples were sent for histopathological examination.
The family and activists organised a press conference on Saturday, alleging that there were violations and contradictions in the second postmortem as well.
Speaking to TNIE, human rights activist PV Ramesh said, "The second report indicates discoloration of some tissues from knee joints and legs, suggesting injuries from blunt force trauma. The fracture of the sternum, labelled as a resuscitative artefact, is suspicious as we believe the police may have struck him in the chest.”
Ramesh also alleged that the first post-mortem report missed key information about the lower limbs, which was a bid to cover up custodial torture.
Anju told TNIE that her husband was illegally detained without following proper arrest protocols, as no FIR was filed against him. “Just before collapsing, my husband told me that the police had physically assaulted him during interrogation. He had bruises on the chest, shoulders and was trembling to walk because of police assault,” she alleged. Police have denied all her allegations.
