00:00Just when Tamil Nadu police was already facing public anger over the custodial death of a
00:0427-year-old temple security guard, Ajit Kumar, another incident of alleged police brutality
00:09surfaced online. On July 2, a video went viral showing a man named C. Ramesh being thrashed
00:14by police officers. The incident, however, had taken place months earlier, on January 14,
00:202025. Ramesh was reportedly detained for allegedly creating a public nuisance while drunk. The video
00:26came to light after advocate Pandya Rajan obtained it through the Right of Information Act while
00:30working on a different case. Following the outrage, the Theni District Police issued a statement
00:35denying custodial torture. Police had used minimum necessary force to subdue Ramesh, who was allegedly
00:41intoxicated and uncontrollable at the time. He was released on bail, police said. Despite the denial,
00:47Theni District Superintendent of Police R. Shiva Prasad ordered a departmental inquiry led by an
00:52additional superintendent of police. This came right after the alleged custodial killing of Ajit Kumar
00:57in Shiv Ganga district. Kumar, a temporary temple security guard, had been picked up in connection
01:02with a reported jewellery theft and died allegedly due to torture in custody. The case sparked widespread
01:07public outreach and triggered a judicial probe. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court made sharp
01:12observations, saying even a murderer wouldn't be attacked like this. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin ordered a
01:18CBI probe into the case, stating the investigation must be above suspicion. So far, five police personnel
01:24have been arrested, a deputy superintendent of police was suspended, and the superintendent of police
01:29placed under compulsory weight. Ajit Kumar case isn't the first to trigger such backlash. The Ambassu Madram
01:35custodial torture in 2023 and the Santakulam father-son case in 2020 are still fresh in public memory.
01:41These incidents often involve alleged misuse of power, physical and mental abuse, and personal vendettas by
01:47police personnel. They often reflect a serious violation of Article 21 of the Indian constitution,
01:51which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. According to data from Parliament,
01:56Tamil Nadu recorded 478 custodial deaths between 2016-17 and February 2022, the highest among southern
02:03states. Yet not a single conviction. Despite the Supreme Court's 2020 directive to install CCTV cameras in
02:10all police stations, enforcement remains patchy. The Tamil Nadu government often touts its police as a
02:16Scotland Yard of India, but repeated cases of custodial deaths and unchecked brutality tells a different
02:21story.
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