Chennai, 3 July (H.S.): A key witness in the Sivaganga custodial death case has written to Tamil Nadu's Director General of Police (DGP), Shankar Jiwal, seeking immediate protection, citing threats to his life. Saktheeswaran, a temple worker, had secretly filmed police officers assaulting 27-year-old Ajith Kumar, a security guard at the Madapuram Bhadrakali Amman Temple. The footage played a central role in the investigation and led to the arrest of five police personnel involved in the incident.

Saktheeswaran stated that one of the accused officers, S. Raja, a special squad police officer with alleged links to local thugs, threatened him directly. After testifying in court as a prosecution witness, Saktheeswaran approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, which directed the state to provide adequate protection to him. Despite this, Saktheeswaran has urged the DGP to assign armed police protection from a district other than Thirubhuvanam, citing potential bias or risk.

Ajith Kumar died in police custody on June 28 after being brought in for questioning in connection with a jewellery theft case. The preliminary autopsy report revealed 44 injury marks on his body, along with traces of chilli powder in his genitals, ears, and mouth. The incident sparked widespread outrage, with several political leaders, including AIADMK's Edappadi K. Palaniswami and CPM's P Shanmugam, condemning the police brutality and demanding action against those responsible.

Following intense scrutiny, Chief Minister MK Stalin transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and assured full cooperation. Judicial Magistrate John Sundarlal is independently investigating the case and is expected to submit a detailed report to the High Court by July 8.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary