A 35-year-old disabled shopkeeper who was arrested for allegedly selling banned tobacco products died while in judicial custody at the Nagercoil District Prison, triggering allegations of custodial torture and leading to the arrest and suspension of three prison staff members, as reported in The New Indian Express.
The deceased, S. Sabari Varman, a resident of Ethancadu in Kanniyakumari district, was arrested by the South Thamaraikulam Police on July 9 after officials allegedly found 15 packets of banned tobacco products in his shop. He was produced before a Nagercoil court, remanded to judicial custody, and lodged in the Nagercoil District Prison.
On Monday (13 July 2026) morning, prison authorities shifted Sabari Varman to the Kanniyakumari Government Medical College Hospital after his health reportedly deteriorated. According to hospital officials, he was brought to the hospital at around 6.05 a.m. and was declared dead on arrival.
Following his death, his family members staged a protest outside the hospital, alleging that he had been subjected to custodial torture inside the prison. They demanded that the postmortem examination be conducted by an independent panel of doctors from other government medical colleges rather than by local doctors.
Initially, senior police officials rejected the allegations, stating that Sabari Varman had no visible injuries when he was arrested or at the time he was admitted to prison. In response to the family’s demand, authorities constituted a panel comprising doctors from the Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospitals to conduct the autopsy.
The postmortem, carried out on Tuesday (14 July 2026) between noon and 2 PM, reportedly revealed 19 injuries on Sabari Varman’s body. The injuries were found on multiple parts of his body, including his elbows, forearms, knees, and legs, raising serious questions about the circumstances leading to his death.
Based on the findings of the autopsy and subsequent investigation, police arrested three prison personnel late on Tuesday. Those arrested have been identified as Chief Jail Warden Thirumalai Nambi Suresh and Jail Wardens Jagen and Sivakumar of the Nagercoil District Prison. All three have also been placed under suspension.
Although the exact charges against the prison staff have not been officially disclosed, police sources said the arrests followed an investigation involving eyewitness accounts and a review of CCTV footage from inside the prison.
As reported in The New Indian Express, Sabari Varman allegedly created a disturbance inside the prison on Sunday night by making loud noises. Prison staff are accused of assaulting him and tying him up in an attempt to restrain him. Investigators are examining whether those actions contributed to his death.
Kanniyakumari District Superintendent of Police R. Stalin visited the prison on Tuesday and conducted an inquiry into the incident. Separately, Nagercoil Judicial Magistrate R. Sathyamoorthy has been recording statements and conducting an independent inquiry at the hospital over the past two days.
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