Chennai: In a landmark judgment, the Madurai District and Sessions Court sentenced four policemen to 11 years in prison in connection with the custodial death of a 17-year-old Muthu Karthik in 2019.
The cops who were awarded the sentence were Inspector Alex Raj and constables Satheesh, Ravi and Ravichandran.
The court also directed the Crime Branch, Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) to file a fresh chargesheet against Inspector Premachandran, Sub-Inspector Kannan, and Inspector Arunachalam for allegedly trying to destroy evidence. While Premachandran and Kannan have retired, the court ordered the immediate suspension of Inspector Arunachalam, who is still in service.
In addition, the court came down strongly on government doctors who allegedly tampered with medical records to cover up custodial torture. It ordered departmental action against Dr Jeyakumar, who conducted the post-mortem, and Dr Srilatha, the Resident Medical Officer of the government hospital, for concealing injury details in their reports.
Madurai native Karthik was taken to the SS Colony Police Station for questioning in a criminal case. During interrogation, he was brutally assaulted by the police, leaving him with severe injuries. Though he was admitted to hospital, he succumbed to complications arising from the assault.
Jaya, the victim's mother, moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking justice for her son's death. The High Court transferred the probe to the CB-CID, which filed charges against Inspector Alex Raj and three other policemen. After years of trial, Judge Joseph Joy delivered the conviction order on Thursday, awarding 11 years of rigorous imprisonment to all four.
The judgment is being hailed as a rare instance of accountability in custodial death cases in Tamil Nadu. Civil rights activist Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of People's Watch, which closely pursued the case, told NDTV, "Cops being convicted for wrong investigation has never happened. The court has also ordered a special investigation against them by an SP-level officer. The Inspector was so powerful that he and others were neither arrested nor suspended."
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