Five cops arrested in temple security guard custodial death case; murder charge imposed

CHENNAI: Five policemen have been arrested in the custodial death of a youth in police custody in Sivaganga. A murder charge has been imposed against them. They were arrested last night after the preliminary postmortem report was released. B Ajith Kumar (27), taken into custody in a theft case in Sivaganga, died at the Thirupuvanam police station. Ajith Kumar was a contract employee of Badrakaliamman Temple at Madappuram in Sivaganga.

The postmortem report showed that Ajith Kumar had sustained injuries in 30 places on his body. The Madras High Court had registered a suo motu case in the death. The court had asked why an unarmed man who had been arrested was attacked. The division bench led by Justice S M Subramanian had also sought an explanation for the lockup deaths that occurred after the DMK government came to power. The case will be considered again today.

Ajith, a temporary security guard at the Madapuram temple in Thirupuvanam, was taken into custody by the police on a complaint that nine sovereigns of gold was stolen from a woman's car. The case was handed over to the crime branch after the DMK government put pressure on the matter. Ajith Kumar's body was cremated in Madapuram. The family had submitted a petition to the magistrate demanding appropriate action in the youth's death.