MADURAI: An alteration report was filed by then investigating officer ADSP N Sugumar of Sivaganga district to the Judicial Magistrate of Thirupuvanam on June 30, 2025, in connection with the custodial death case of temple guard B Ajithkumar.
The report, which came to light on Thursday, revealed that policemen from the Manamadurai special team had physically assaulted Ajithkumar with plastic pipes.
The assault was allegedly driven by anger and a strong belief that he had committed a crime but was refusing to confess.
While the case is now being probed by the CBI, the report was filed by the ADSP before it was handed over to the agency.
It was submitted immediately after the incident as part of the legal proceedings. The District Munsif-cum-Judicial Magistrate of Thirupuvanam, R. Venkadesh Prasanth, had commenced his inquest on June 29, a day before the ADSP filed the report.
The report states that the special team was trying to recover the stolen jewels and believed Ajithkumar was giving false statements. They had already questioned a few people, including his brother Naveenkumar, whose statements were also found to be false.
Convinced that Ajithkumar had committed the theft but was refusing to confess, the five policemen assaulted him to “bring out the truth”, following which Ajithkumar fell ill and died from his injuries on the night of June 28.
In connection with the case, the Thirupuvanam police registered a case against the five policemen – constables S. Raja (36), A. Anand (38), S. Sankaramanikandan (36), head constables G. Prabhu (42) and G. Kannan (47).
The report clarifies that while constable Ramachandran was part of the team, he did not beat Ajithkumar.
The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has directed the agency to complete its investigation and submit a report to the jurisdictional court on or before August 20. The CBI recently took custody of the policemen for two days for interrogation before lodging them back in the Madurai Central Prison.
Ajithkumar, a 29-year-old temple security guard, was detained for interrogation by the special team on June 27 following a jewel theft complaint lodged by J. P. Nikita of Madurai. The state government later offered a government job to his brother Naveenkumar, announced a solatium, and allocated a piece of land to his mother, B. Malathy.
