Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 5 : The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has said that the judiciary would "teach a lesson to the police" in the case of the custodial death of a temple guard, Ajith Kumar, pointing out that a man was "beaten to death for nothing."
The case involved the death of a Madappuram temple guard, Ajith Kumar, which the court said is a "clear case of custodial death."
Kumar, a security guard at the Madapuram Kaliamman temple in Tiruppuvanam in Sivaganga, was detained for questioning in connection with a theft. He later allegedly died while in police custody.
The court noted that the complaint of jewellery theft that led to his arrest was false and refused bail to the arrested policemen.
In a major twist in the Sivaganga custodial death case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday that the alleged jewellery theft case, on the basis of which the victim was detained, had been closed.
Justice S Srimathy, while hearing bail petitions filed by accused police personnel in a custodial death case, sought from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the status of the alleged jewellery theft case and whether the allegations were true.
The CBI informed the court that the theft case had been closed. "So there was nothing?" the Judge asked, to which the CBI replied in the negative.
Expressing anguish, the Judge observed, "So there was nothing. A person was beaten to death in a case where there was nothing."
Justice Srimathy further asked the CBI whether action would be initiated against the complainant, Nikitha, who was alleged to be the root cause of the incident. The CBI submitted that it would file a report before the court in this regard.
In the custodial death case, the CBI stated that a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet had been filed against 10 police personnel before the Fifth Additional District and Sessions Court in Madurai, the trial court.
Submitting that it was a case of police excess, the investigating agency added that the trial was pending. The court adjourned the hearing on the bail petitions.
The CBI closed the alleged jewellery theft case, citing a lack of evidence and materials.
B. Ajith Kumar was a temporary security employee at the Badrakali Amman Temple in Madapuram, Sivaganga district. On June 27, 2025, Nikitha, a resident of Thirumangalam in Madurai district, visited the temple along with her mother.
As her mother had difficulty walking, Nikitha reportedly handed over the car key to Ajith Kumar, requesting him to park the vehicle.
It was alleged that upon their return, they found the bag inside the car open and the gold ornaments missing. Ajith Kumar was taken in for interrogation and died during the interrogation on June 28, 2025.
The State government subsequently transferred the investigation in both the alleged theft case and the custodial death case to the CBI.
Five police personnel -- Prabhu, Kannan, Sankara Manikandan, Raja, and Anand -- were initially arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
Subsequently, Ramachandran, a police driver, was named as an accused and remanded.
Later, the then Manamadurai Deputy Superintendent of Police, N Shanmugasundaram; the then Thirupuvanam Inspector of Police, P Ramesh Kumar; the then Sub-Inspector of Police, Siva Kumar; and the then Head Constable, Ilayaraja, were also named as accused in the case.