MADURAI: The family of a Scheduled Caste youth who died of alleged custodial torture on March 8 is yet to receive a copy of the chargesheet.
R Aakash Delison of Manamadurai had died while undergoing treatment in the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai after his right leg was allegedly broken by the Sivaganga police on March 6 in connection with an assault case.
The chargesheet should have been filed by May 7, but it was filed only on June 18, with a delay of at least 40 days, by the CB-CID, which is currently probing the case.
“The chargesheet copy should be given to the family immediately after it was filed in the court. However, one month has been passed since the chargesheet was filed in the Sivaganga court. No intimation was given to the family about the filing. The police purposefully delayed in providing the chargesheet to the family and so far no policemen have been arrested in the case,” said Delison’s father Rajesh Kannan
All the policemen involved in the case should be included in the case and must be arrested,” he demanded.
M Lenin, a social activist, said they don’t know how many policemen are included as accused in the case but it must include all 16 policemen as accused in the chargesheet. “We also requested for the CCTV footage and case sheet of the hospitals where Delison was taken and treated while alive. However, that details were also not provided to us till this evening”, said Lenin.
The remand report recorded by the Manamadurai Judicial Magistrate on March 7 included Delison’s statement alleging that police personnel assaulted him with an iron rod, causing fractures, bleeding and severe pain. The postmortem report mentioned as many as 29 injuries, most of which were abrasions except the fracture in the right leg.
However, according to the prosecution in the court, Delison, a history-sheeter, sustained a fracture to his right leg after allegedly jumping from a railway bridge while attempting to evade arrest in connection with an assault case on March 5.
