The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has refused bail to police personnel arrested in the custodial death case of temple security guard Ajithkumar, observing that the judiciary would “teach a lesson to the police” and expressing anguish that a man had been “beaten to death for nothing.”
Hearing bail petitions filed by some of the arrested officers, Justice Sreemathi adjourned the matter to February 17 and directed that the accused remain in custody until the conclusion of trial.
The case relates to the death of Ajithkumar, who was working as a security guard at the Madapuram Badrakali Amman Temple near Tiruppuvanam. He was picked up for inquiry on 27 June 2025, following a complaint that jewellery had gone missing from the temple. He died the next day, June 28, after alleged custodial torture.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case, informed the High Court that its inquiry had confirmed Ajithkumar’s death as a custodial killing. The agency also told the court that the jewellery theft complaint lodged against him had no factual basis and had been closed.
Video footage of the assault had surfaced earlier. A postmortem examination documented around 40 injuries on Ajithkumar’s body, confirming severe physical abuse.
Five members of a special police team, Anand, Kannan, Raja, Prabhu and Sankar Manikandan were arrested in connection with the case and lodged in Madurai Central Prison. During the hearing of their bail pleas, the CBI submitted that Ajithkumar’s death was a confirmed custodial death and that as many as ten officials named in the FIR were linked to the incident.
According to the agency, those facing cases include a DSP, an Inspector, a Head Constable and members of the special team involved in the inquiry.
Questioning the basis of the original complaint, the judge asked whether action would be taken against the complainant, noting that an innocent man had been brutally assaulted in a case that did not exist. The court also sought to know whether there had been any prior enmity between the victim and the officers.
The CBI informed the court that there was no prior enmity and that the assault occurred during questioning carried out on the instructions of senior officials.
Observing that a person had been beaten to death over a baseless case, the court said the accused must remain in prison and stressed the need to send a strong message to law enforcement authorities.
The High Court had earlier ordered interim compensation of ₹25 lakh to Ajithkumar’s family. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had transferred the investigation to the CBI, stating that the probe must be beyond reproach, and had publicly apologised to the victim’s family.
Source: NDTV
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