Chennai, July 1 (UNI) Following the death of a 27-year-old youth in alleged illegal custody of the police in Sivaganga district, the DMK government of MK Stalin has been under fire from the Opposition with the principal opposition AIADMK demanding a CBI inquiry while the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of actor Vijay pressing for a High Court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

The victim, Ajith Kumar, a security guard at the Bhadra Kali Amman temple at Madapuram, picked up by the police in connection with a jewel theft case filed by a devotee visiting the shrine, had died allegedly due to severe thrashing by a Special Police Team on Sunday.

While six cops, attached to Thirupuvanam police station, allegedly involved in thrashing the victim to death, were suspended and arrested, the state government transferred the investigation to the CB-CID police.

This is the 25th such custodial death after the DMK assumed power in 2021. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has demanded that the case be handed over to the CBI as the state police has lost the confidence of the people, he said.

“It is shocking that the post-mortem report of the victim had revealed 18 wounds from head to toe. Further, the blows on the neck resulted in the death. This had happened due to the highhandedness of the police, under the watch of the Stalin government. The 25 custodial deaths are a flagrant violation of human rights and the NHRC should take this up suo motu,” he wrote in an ‘X’ post.

A former chief minister, EPS also alleged that the police had initially attempted to cover up the incident. He charged that the police under the Stalin government were lying as they did in the May 2022 lock-up death of Vignesh in Chennai.

“Even the FIR in Ajit Kumar’s death has stated that it was due to fits. Where is the Chief Minister hiding? Rather than answering the public, he is holding review meetings on law and order. Shifting the investigation to CB-CID is not enough,” he said.

Coming down heavily on the DMK government, actor-politician Vijay, pressing for a High Court-monitored probe, said the death of Ajit Kumar under illegal police custody had raised several questions.

“This incident exposes how under the watch of Chief Minister Stalin, holding the Home Department, the police have become a lawless force without an iota of ethics. Initially, the government had tried to save the police personnel involved in the heinous crime. Only after political parties took up the issue and after the intervention of the Madurai bench of the High Court, the police started to act. The Chief Minister should release a white paper on the 24 lock up deaths in the last four years,” read a statement he shared on ‘X’.

He asked Stalin to ensure that such an incident would not recur.

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