Daijiworld Media Network – Madurai

Madurai, Sep 26: In a landmark verdict, the Madurai District and Sessions Court on Thursday sentenced four policemen to 11 years of rigorous imprisonment for the 2019 custodial death of 17-year-old Muthu Karthik.

Those convicted are Inspector Alex Raj and constables Satheesh, Ravi and Ravichandran. The court also ordered the Crime Branch–Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) to file a fresh chargesheet against Inspector Premachandran, Sub-Inspector Kannan and Inspector Arunachalam for allegedly destroying evidence. While Premachandran and Kannan have retired, the court directed immediate suspension of Inspector Arunachalam, who remains in service.

Coming down heavily on medical professionals accused of covering up the torture, the court ordered departmental action against Dr Jeyakumar, who conducted the post-mortem, and Dr Srilatha, Resident Medical Officer of the government hospital, for allegedly concealing injury details in their reports.

Karthik, a native of Madurai, was taken to SS Colony Police Station for questioning in a criminal case, where he was brutally assaulted. Despite being admitted to hospital, he died from injuries sustained during the interrogation.

The case reached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court after Karthik’s mother, Jaya, sought justice. The High Court transferred the probe to the CB-CID, which filed charges leading to Thursday’s conviction by Judge Joseph Joy.

Civil rights activist Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of People’s Watch, hailed the ruling as a rare example of accountability in custodial deaths, noting that the court also ordered a special investigation by an SP-level officer into the attempted cover-up.