Madras HC appoints Enquiry Officer into Sivaganga custodial death, allows CB-CID probe

Madurai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday appointed an Enquiry Officer into the Sivaganga custodial death case and allowed a CB-CID probe into the matter.

The death of 29-year-old Ajithkumar, picked up in connection with a theft complaint, has sparked outrage across Tamil Nadu.

Henry Tiphagne, the lawyer who argued the case at the High Court bench here, said the court appointed Madurai 4th Additional Sessions Judge John Sunderlal Suresh as the enquiry officer.

"All files, evidence should be handed over to him within 2-3 days. He will submit a report on July 8," Tiphagne, also a social activist, told reporters.

The court also allowed the CB-CID to investigate the matter, after the probe was transferred to the agency earlier in the day, he added. The agency will also submit a status report later.

With a "special team" operating under the Manamadurai DSP being involved in the incident, the official concerned has been placed under suspension, the government side informed the court, Tiphagne said.

Tiphagne further said it was submitted in the court that the "special team" picked up Ajithkumar without filing an FIR and thrashed him on different occasions and different places under the guise of an enquiry. At the last location, a cowshed belonging to a temple in Madappuram in Sivaganga, he was thrashed using pipes and sticks.

Chilly powder was thrown on his eyes and mouth, he alleged.

The family of the alleged custodial victim had filed a writ petition in the HC, seeking a direction to the authorities concerned to register a murder case in connection with the incident.