A court in Madurai has ordered the custody of four police officers, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), after charges of murder were framed against them in connection with the death of Madapuram temple security guard Ajithkumar, who died after being assaulted during police interrogation, as reported in Dinamalar.
Ajithkumar, a security guard at the Madapuram temple in Thirubhuvanam, Sivaganga district, was taken into custody for questioning after a woman named Nikitha lodged a complaint on June 27 last year alleging that he had stolen her jewellery.
A special police team questioned Ajithkumar following the complaint. He subsequently died, with allegations emerging that he had been assaulted by the police during interrogation.
The case triggered widespread outrage across Tamil Nadu and was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation.
Several members of the special police team were arrested during the investigation. The names of Manamadurai DSP Shanmugasundaram, Thirubhuvanam Inspector Rameshkumar, Sub-Inspector Sivakumar and Head Constable Ilaiyaraja were subsequently included in the additional chargesheet filed in the case.
The case came up for hearing before the Madurai District Court’s Fifth Additional Court on Thursday, 10 September 2026.
After hearing the case, Judge Dhamodharan ordered that charges under the relevant murder provisions be framed against Shanmugasundaram, Rameshkumar, Sivakumar and Ilaiyaraja. The court also ordered that all four be remanded in custody.
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