Parents of Coimbatore youth who was subjected to custodial torture move court seeking preservation of CCTV visuals

Rajarathinam and R. Dhanalakshmi of Keeranatham with a petition seeking investigation into alleged custodial torture of their son Jayakumar. | Photo Credit: Special Arranagement

Accusing the Coimbatore City Police of having tortured their son in illegal custody for five days, the parents of a 22-year-old youth, who was recently arrested in an attempt to murder case moved a court on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 seeking preservation of CCTV visuals of the Kattoor police station.

R. Dhanalakshmi and her husband Rajarathinam of Balaji Garden at Keeranatham, submitted a plea before the second judicial magistrate court, seeking a direction for the preservation of the CCTV visuals from the police station from September 16 to 20. 

The couple alleged that their son R. Jayakumar, a taxi driver by occupation, was taken into custody by a special team of the police on September 16 and was subjected to third-degree torture till his arrest and remand on September 20. Jayakumar is one of the 12 accused arrested by the police for the attempt to murder two men at Ram Nagar in Coimbatore on September 12.

The couple, who also petitioned Coimbatore City Police Commissioner V. Balakrishnan on Tuesday, alleged that the youth was undergoing dialysis in the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), after his kidneys were affected by the police torture.

Following his remand at the Coimbatore Central Prison on September 20, Jayakumar was shifted to a prison in Tiruppur next day. On September 22, he was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Tiruppur, as he was able to urinate. After his condition versoned, he was shifted to CMCH, the petition said.

“When we visited him in Tiruppur prison, he told us that the police tortured him brutally, by taking him to different places blindfolded. He was beaten up with materials like club, lathi and PVC pipe. He told us in tears that his urine was mixed with blood. He was a hale and healthy man who turned 22 this year. Now kept under dialysis, we fear that his life is in danger,” said Ms. Dhanalakshmi.

Human rights activist and advocate S. Balamurugan from the People’s Union for Civil Liberties said that Jayakumar was one of the many suspects who have underwent brutal police torture in Coimbatore in the recent past. Police claimed that some of them met with accidents and jumped off bridges while attempting to escape, which are all suspicious accounts.

“Special teams of the police are acting without any accountability. They are not following any guidelines and are fearlessly involved in custodial violence such as shooting victims in their legs and breaking their limps. Invariably many arrestees have been remanded with injuries. Prevention of crime is part of the police work but it does not permit them to torture suspects,” he said.

According to him, the police continue to violate various guidelines for arresting and questioning suspects and not following landmark judgments like the D.K. Basu Vs State of West Bengal, which laid down guidelines required to be followed while making arrests.

Based on the petition given by the couple, Mr. Balakrishnan tasked the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kattoor range, to investigate the allegations.