CUSTODIAL DEATH OF MR.

VIGNESH G-5 STATION, CHENNAI

Introduction:

The Sub-Inspector of the Chennai Metropolitan Police Control Room and G-

5, Secretariat Quarters Police Station Constable Ponraj 50311 and Home
Guard 5019 were engaged in a vehicle check at the Chennai Purasavakkam
Bricklin Road junction on 18.04.2022 at around 11.00 pm. Vignesh (23)
Suresh (@) Jollu Suresh (30) who came in an auto driven by Mr. Prabhu at
that time was stopped, illegally detained, beaten and tortured in the name of
interrogation and Vignesh died while in police custody on 19.04.2022.

Based on the news telecasted in News Minute TV thereupon News Minute

Reporter Ahmed and Times Now Reporter Shilpa and Aseer of People's
Watch searched for the victims from the evening of April 21 until midnight.
But the team could not find and meet anyone. They went to Pattinapakkam,
Seenivasapuram to meet Vijay the second brother of Vignesh but the owner
of the house said that the house was vacated that day.

On April 22, at about 9:00 am, the fact finding team met Vignesh's elder
brother, Vinoth. After that they met other brothers and also Vignesh's aunt
and uncle. They all were afraid because of constant police threats. They first
expressed to the team that they were in dire need of protection from the
police threats. So the team paid their full attention in protecting them. In
general, during the fact finding, the team will meet both the victims and the
perpetrators, thereafter publish the report since the fact-finding team paid
constant attention to protecting the victims they were unable to meet the
perpetrators and officials. And hence the purpose of this Press Meet is to
bring the victims before the media persons and release the statements of the
victims.

The brothers of Vignesh are 1. Vinoth (30), 2. Vijay (28), 3. Vignesh (26), 4.
Veera (24), 5. Satya (22), 6. Surya (20). They lost their parents at their young
age. These are homeless people who grew up on the streets of Chennai. They
belong to Hindu Adhidravidar, Scheduled Caste. They have been living
without getting a family card, voter ID card, and Aadhar card.

The fact finding team got the statements from Vinoth, Vijay and Karpagam
and sent the same to the SHRC as well as respective police officials. Now the
preliminary report prepared is presented to the media along with the
recommendations of the fact finding team.

List of Documents

S.No Document
Statement of Mr. Vinoth (30), S/o Mr. Vadivel (Elder brother of Mr.
1.
Vignesh)
2. Statement Mr. Prabhu (30) S/o Mr. Gunasekaran (Witness)
Ms. Karpagam (51) W/o Mr. Ganesan (Mother of Mr. Suresh, Auto
3.
Driver)
4. Findings
5. Chronological brief of the case of Custodial death of Mr. Vignesh
Copy of the Memorandum sent to Chief Justice of the Madras High
6.
Court
7. Copy of the Memorandum sent to The Chairperson, SHRC
Copy of the Memorandum sent to Executive Chairman of Tamil Nadu
8.
Legal Services Authority
9. Recommendations
 Statement of Mr. Vinoth (30) S/o Vadivel

(Elder brother of deceased Mr. Viknesh)

My name is Vinoth. My father‟s name is Vadivel, mother‟s name is

Kanjana. I am belonging to Adhidravida caste, Scheduled Caste. I have five
younger brothers. I am the eldest son in the family. Mr. Vijay (27), Mr.
Viknesh (22), Mr. Veera (21), Mr. Sathya (23), Mr. Suriya (17) are my
younger brothers.

My father died when I am was 20. Later, my mother also died. So we

grew up without our parental care in our early age. We don‟t have a proper
house to live in Marina. From the beginning we grew up on the streets. We
were sleeping on the beach almost all days of the year. Our only hope is our
aunty who used to support us when we suffer. She is our father‟s younger
sister.

My younger brother Mr. Vijay (27) only got married. His wife‟s name is
Ms. Deepa (24). They are having a five months old female baby, rest of us
are still bachelors / unmarried. Vijay is living in a rental room at
Srinivasapuram, Pattinapakkam. I am living in a rental room at Rahavan
Garden, Otteri. The other brothers will be staying in my room or in Vijay‟s
room alternatively. It is our family practice that we often sleep on the Marina
beach in the night.

Marina beach is something close to our life since our younger age. I
am working in a petty stall in the beach where they have balloon shooting /
firing as an amusement activity. I am earning Rs 300/- per day. Every day I
spent Rs.150/- for food. The rest of the amount will be saved and paid for
my room rent which is Rs.3,500/-. End of the month I won't have any
amount in my hand as balance.

My brothers are working as horse riders in the Marina beach. Vignesh

was working for Mr. Ranjith who is the owner of his horse. My brother
Vignesh works as horse rider since his young age. He was earning only Rs
300/- per day. Sometimes he goes for cinema shootings, during that time he

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would earn little extra. In the weekends he could earn more since his owner
pays Rs.100/- extra. In the week days the business is often dull.

After 19.04.202 when my brother Vignesh died because of custodial

violence by the G5 Police, my brother Vijay‟s room owner asked to vacate his
room immediately. Due to the continuous police intimidation and pressure, I
am roaming here and there in Chennai. My younger brothers were hiding
themselves somewhere because of police intimidation, I don‟t know their
whereabouts. This is our situation after the death of my younger brother
Vignesh.

Character wise my brother Mr. Vignesh is very calm and good at

heart. He was hard working and sincere at his work. Immediately before
Corona lockdown a criminal case was registered on my brother but actually
he indulged in that incident only to protect his owner Mr. Ranjith. There are
no other cases in his name in any police station. He usually during day time
comes to my room and rests; at times he went to another brother Vijay‟s
room. Unnecessarily he never roamed around, last week he got a chance to
act in Actor Suriya‟s upcoming movie shooting. Then Sunday (17.04.2022),
he went to my brother Vijay‟s place. Vijay has a five month old female baby;
he brought new dresses for her from the extra money he earned in the
shooting. When my brother announced that he begot a female baby and she
is our family‟s first child, my brother Vignesh had kissed and hugged the
horse he was looking after and expressed his joy. This incident was narrated
to me by my brother Vijay later.

Even before I came to know that my brother Vignesh was under police
custody or died. When I was in my room and taking bath on 19th April 2022
(Tuesday) at around 12.00 PM suddenly 5 police personnel headed by Ms.
Rajeswari, Inspector, Pattinambakkam entered my room. One among them
was not in uniform. They brought my brother Suriya along with them. The
room in which I reside is 10 x 8 square feet in size. The bathroom of my
residence does not have door and Inspector Rajeswari asked me whether I
am Vinoth and immediately she asked to come with them. I was in the
middle of a bath and the soap froth was still to be washed but the inspector

2
insisted that I go with them at once and I had to dry out the soap froth with
my bath towel and dress and go. They did not allow me to bathe.

I am residing in this Ravana Garden, Otteri area for more than five
years. Many people are living as a family in around the area. I am the only
bachelor residing there. Nobody ever talked about me badly so far. Opposite
my house, a grandma talked to me caringly usually. The policemen took me
to the Police station from my place like an accused. I was put to shame at
that time by the police. The Policemen inhumanly took me with them though
I didn't do anything wrong. I don‟t know why police treated me like that?

That Police team took Surya and me to Pattinampakkam Police

Station and a Policeman took a photo of us and Inspector Rajeswari team
handed over us to other police party and there were three policemen in it
and they looked like special party form their activities. They took us in an
auto-rickshaw to another place; while we were travelling in that auto-
rickshaw it stopped at a traffic signal and one among them showed me my
brother Vignesh‟s photograph from his mobile and asked me whether he is
my brother? Then he said that my brother has died. He also added that my
brother got fits and vomited in the morning before he could die. He asked us
to leave the matter like that and said what had happened has happened and
asked us to move on without any fuss.

I was shocked once I heard the message. Only two days before he
came to my house and met me. Since his childhood he never suffered from
fits and he does not have any other chronic diseases, I was confused as to
how come he died? I couldn‟t believe and accept it. Immediately we were
taken to the K2 Police station. They didn't allow us to get down from the
vehicle. From there we were taken to G5 Police station. Our cell phones were
confiscated by the Police. My brother Surya and I were in the same room,
but we are not allowed to speak to each other.

The Police gave us lunch and I ate a little whereas my Younger

Brother Suriya did not eat. We were kept in a separate room. After some

3
time my brother Veera was also brought into that room. In the evening,
three Policemen and the higher officials came there one of the officials name
is Mr. Mohandoss, Inspector of thousand lights Police Station.

At around 400 PM Inspector Mohandass was present in the G5

Station that time one sub-inspector in mufti and four other policemen were
there with him. Though I do not know their names I can identify them. The
inspector came to us and told Veera, though he knew that he is a murder
case accused he is allowing him to sit and treating him as equal as others
over there but threatened him by saying, „If you do not listen to what I say,
you will land in prison‟ and he was also threating him that he will beat him
up if he disobeys‟. That time the sub-inspector who was clad in civil clothes
talked to us as if he is trying to settle the matter by himself said whatever
happened has happened, we cannot revert back, accept the money given
and use it for the funeral ceremony and leave the matter to pass.

Inspector Mohandoss then made a phone call and talked to Mr.

Ranjith, the owner of the horse which my brother Vignesh rode. Then he put
me over phone to talk to Mr. Ranjith; he advised us to take the money that
the police is giving and leave the unfortunate incident that happened to us
regards the death of my brother. He also said he had asked the police to give
Rs.1,00,000/- (one lac) for the peaceful cremation of his brother Vignesh.
Mr. Ranjith is a man who supports us in our difficulties. Then the Sub-
Inspector in plain clothes who travelled with in the auto came near us and
asked whether we belong to The Scheduled caste and he threatened us and
said Inspector Mohandass will be nice if we accept the money and leave the
matter since it cannot be reverted and if we refused the money Inspector
would beat us to death. All us were frightened at that point in time and
decided to leave the place by heeding to whatever the police were saying.
First the policeman gave me a bunch of 500 rupees notes and said there is
Rs.50,000/-(fifty thousand) in it and later he gave another bunch of 100,
200 and 500 rupees notes and said there is Rs.50,000/- (fifty thousand)
more; they gave us a total of Rs.1,00,000/-. We were literally scared and got
the money but even today I have not spent a single paisa from it.

4
 After that, an ununiformed person told us that he is a Sub-Inspector,
while we travelled in an auto. Whether are you belonging to the S.C.
community, he asked us. I said, yes. If I refused to receive the amount from
the police, then Mr. Mohandoss will beat and kill me. So I decided to accept
the amount with a frightened mentality. He gave me a bundle of Rs 500/-
notes. He said that there is Rs 50,000/-. After half an hour ununiformed
police gave me Rs 100, Rs 200, and Rs 500 notes for the sum of another Rs
50,000/-. Totally they have given Rs 1,00,000/-. I have not spent any
money from the amount till now. I have decided to hand over the money to
the CM or the Judicial Magistrate.

The three of us were taken in a car to accommodate us in a nearby

mansion. We slept there. We were again taken to the G5 station the next day
morning at around 10.00 am. by car. My aunty Ms. Muniamma along with
my younger brothers Mr. Sathya and Mr. Vijay came to the G5 station. My
aunty, younger brothers Mr. Suriya and Mr.Veera were crying loudly. There
was a policeman who threatened them to not make noise; otherwise, we will
arrest all of you. My aunt was not allowed us to talk to our uncle.

I and my brother Mr. Vijay was taken to the Hospital, Keelpaukkam.

The police said that he will send me to meet the Magistrate; he will talk to
me and asked me to go and talk with him. I clearly explained to him that
there are no chances for my younger brother to die naturally; I have doubts
about his death. He noted all the information which I had shared with him.

Later he showed my brother Mr. Vignesh‟s body to me only. There

were so many scars on his whole body, specifically on the shoulder, on his
face, and the joints of the fingers of both hands. His jaw was seen broken
and severely damaged. The Judge and a policeman were with me while I was
seeing my brother‟s body. Along with us, a person was taking videography of
the body. Angrily I said that I will not leave this matter, I will go to the media
and publicize the issue. A policeman looked at me and said, your brother
threatened me with a knife to save our life we had beaten him, he died, what
shall we do? He also asked us to burn the body. Once I saw my brother‟s
body, then I was weeping deeply. We never cremate the body, because burial

5
is our custom, so we won‟t burn my brother‟s body, if you force me to burn
the body then I will commit suicide, I said. But the policemen were
pressuring us to burn the body. Then I requested the Judge to help me to
get my brother‟s body for the burial ceremony.

After the post-mortem around 04.00 pm, they got signatures on a few
papers. But they didn‟t hand over my brother‟s body. The police didn‟t allow
my relatives to see my younger brother Mr. Vignesh‟s body. The policemen
had taken my aunt, uncle, and my two younger brothers to the
Krishnampettai burial ground by a police vehicle. We were taken to the
burial ground in a separate police vehicle. Before we reached the place,
there were plenty of policemen accumulated there. We were not allowed to
do any formal rituals for my brother. We were also not allowed to see my
brother‟s face and cry before his body's burial in the ground. Urgently they
buried the body and went off. The whole burial ceremony expenses were met
out by the policemen. My aunt, uncle, and relatives were shown my younger
brother Mr. Vignesh‟s body first only at the burial ground. It was around
05.00pm. We went home by walk. Policemen had been gathered at the burial
ground.

The next day I received a phone call from a Sub-inspector to help him
to find out an auto driver, who is related to this case was missing, could you
help me to find out?, he asked. I have lost my brother, so why should I go
and help them, I refused to go. I had to seek asylum to safeguard myself
from police torture, so I am staying in a safe place. My younger brother Mr.
Vignesh brutally attacked by the police had died. Necessary action must be
taken by the competent authority on the police personnel involved in this
issue, he prayed finally.

Mr. Prabhu (40) S/o Mr. Gunasekaran

(Statement of witness)

My name is Prabhu (40). My father‟s name is Mr. Gunasekaran. I am

working as an auto driver. I am belonging to SC community. I am residing at
Door No:80, Block No: 150, Perumbakkam, Chennai – 600100. My wife‟s

6
name is Ms. Geetha. We have three children. First daughter is Ms. Saranya
(21) completed her schooling and is working in a private company. Second
daughter is Ms. Pushpa (20) got married. Third is son Mr. Thamodharan
(18). He completed his 10th standard and is working in a bike company.

I was returning from Retteri trip to Triplicane on 18.04.2022 around

10.45pm. While I was crossing the Paadi Bridge, there was a person who
stopped my auto. I stopped the vehicle. Two persons were standing there.
Mr. Suresh and Mr. Vignesh stopped the vehicle. I knew them earlier and
they are residing at Triplicane. I asked Mr. Suresh, why are you standing
here? I came here for work, he replied. He asked me to drop him at GH. So I
took them in my vehicle. Policemen stopped my vehicle near Kellys signal. I
stopped my auto. It was around 11.00pm. There was a policeman along with
a Sub-Inspector. The SI asked me, from where did you pick them up? From
Paddi Bridge I picked up them, I replied. He asked me, where are you going.
I said I am going to GH to drop them. Do you know both of them who are
sitting in your vehicle? I said, they are passengers only, I don‟t know them
sir. Then SI enquired Mr. Suresh, he showed his leg injury and said that he
is going to the GH for treatment. He asked his name. He changed his name
and said his name is Ramesh. He asked both of them to remove their mask.
The SI immediately took a photograph of Mr. Suresh from his mobile.
Quickly he downloaded all the information about him from the web. He
found and collected his real name and previous case details on the spot. He
checked Mr. Suresh. He didn‟t have anything. Then he checked Mr. Vignesh
and took a knife from him. They made a call to another police to come there.
They came with the Police vehicle. A policeman came there. Three of them
were beaten up alternately. There was a shed setting up work was going on
nearby Vasanth & Co and Metro at Kellys, Policemen took wooden cudgels
from there and beat them severely. I didn't do anything wrong, please leave
me; I am unable to bear the pain, he shouted. Policemen have not listened
to his cry. I don‟t know the name of the policemen but I could identify them.
Policemen have beaten up Mr. Suresh also but not as much as Mr. Vignesh
got ill-treated and affected. Because he got an injury on his leg, I assumed.
Both of them were severely beaten up by the policemen up to 02.00 am.
7
They could not walk. Four wooden cudgels were broken down. There was a
police vehicle that came around 02.00 am. Both Mr. Suresh and Mr.
Vignesh were taken into the vehicle. They asked me to come to the station. I
took my auto and followed the police vehicle and reached K2 station. The
station was very dark. We were taken by lift to a room upstairs. Mr. Suresh
and Mr. Vignesh were kept in a lock-up. A policeman asked me to give a
written letter about the trip of Mr. Suresh and Mr. Vignesh pick-up. I told
him that I don‟t know to write. Immediately he wrote a letter on my behalf
for me and got my signature from me. They have taken a photograph of me
and my auto. They asked for my license. I told them that I kept it at home. I
was there at the K2 police station on 19.04.2022 up to 03.10am. I saw that
Mr. Suresh and Mr. Vignesh both of them were kept in the lock-up, while I
left the station.

I met Ms. Karpagam, mother of Mr. Suresh at Triplicane around

10.30am. I informed her that her son Mr. Suresh was kept in K2 police
station. She asked me to take her to the station immediately. I took her to
the station. I dropped her and went near the Iynavaram bus stop. After one
hour she came to me and said that policeman said Mr. Suresh was not
there. I repeatedly asked the policeman, they said that my son is not there.
So I came back, she said. I told her that I dropped Mr. Suresh and Mr.
Vignesh both of them at the station yesterday night. Policemen are saying
lies, I said. Then we don‟t know what to do. So we came back home. I was
worried. I couldn‟t sleep for the whole night. I took Mr. Vignesh alive to the
station in my vehicle, he is no more today, I will come and say the same
incident at any place, he said.

Statement of Ms. Karpagam (51), W/o Mr. Ganesan

(Mother of Mr. Suresh who tortured by the Police)

My name is (51). My husband‟s name is Mr. Ganesan. I am belonging

to Parayar community. I am residing at 144/51, Viktoriya hostel backside,
Thiplicane, Chennai. We have three kids, namely Mr. Suresh (28), Mr.
Surendar (26), and Ms. Deepa (22). Ms. Deepa got married to Mr. Vijay, who

8
is the brother of Mr. Vignesh. I am selling flowers and earning money for my
livelihood. My husband is an auto driver.

On 19.04.2022 around 10.00a.m. Mr. Prabhu (40), S/o Mr.

Gunasekaran, our area auto driver said that yesterday your son Mr. Suresh
and his friend Mr. Vignesh both were getting into my auto nearby Paadi
bridge while I am returning from my Retteri trip. The Police stopped my auto
nearby Kellys signal and beat them then taken to the police station. They
were kept in K2 police station. I asked the auto driver to take me to the
police station; I also said that I will pay the auto charges. Then he dropped
me near the K2 police station on 19.04.2022 around 10.30 am. But Mr.
Prabhu was scared to come to the police station, so he didn‟t come.

I entered the K2 station. There were two, three policemen. I don't

know their names and designations. But I could identify them. I told a
policeman that I am the mother of Mr. Suresh; my son was taken by the
police and kept in this station since yesterday night. I want to meet him, I
said. He replied that nobody is here in that name. He asked me to clear the
place immediately. I was hesitating to leave the place immediately. The auto
driver won‟t tell lie, then I asked the police again. He also repeated the same
answer. I was waiting there at the station for half an hour. There is no
response from the police personnel. So I returned home.

After I returned from the station, my son didn‟t reach home. The next
day morning one of our area boys said that Mr. Vignesh died due to
suffocation. He showed paper news from his mobile. I fainted and fell down
immediately. Then the neighbors came, sprayed the water on my face, and
woke me up. Then I heard that my son Suresh was taken to prison. So I
went to the Puzhal prison to meet my son and gave a petition to meet him
on 26.04.2022. They asked me to come next day. Again I came home.

Recommendations

Human Rights Violations for Mr. Vignesh

1. On 18.04.2022 at 11.00 pm in the Kellys area three policemen

stopped the auto in which Vignesh and Suresh travelled thereafter

9
 they were brutally tortured continuously till 2.00 am the next day
with hands and battons caused injuries to various parts of the body.
This is a torture that has taken place against many judgments of the
Supreme Court of India and against the United Nations declaration
against torture.The other two policemen who came after hearing this
and were involved in the torture will also be held responsible.

Neither the relatives of Vignesh's family nor the relatives of Suresh's

family were informed by the police that both Suresh and Vignesh were
taken into police custody and arrested on 18.04.2022 at around 11
pm.

2. 2. The K-2 Ayanavaram Police Inspector arrived in his own private

vehicle from the place where they were arrested (Kellys). So since the
torture that took place on the road for about 3 1/2 hours at night is
not likely to take place without the knowledge of the Inspector of
Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of
Police in charge of night patrol. Also it is not likely to take place
without the knowledge of the night patrol police. Therefore they all
are responsible for this human rights violation and so they too should
have been laid off.

3. While the assembly is in place the protocol is that the arrest should be
informed to the higher police officials who are in charge of the four
police zones in the state. Chennai Metro City Police Commissioner
Mr. Sankarjival should also be held responsible for the incident which
took place within the confines of the Chennai Metropolitan Police. The
arrest was made in violation of several orders of D.K.Basu judgment
and in violation of the National Human Rights Commission's
guidelines for arrests, especially under sections 41B, 41C, 41D, 46,
50A and 60A of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 is a violation.

4. On 19.04.2022 at around 3 am K2 Ayanavaram Police Station,

Vignesh was unable to walk, he was taken to the first floor using the
existing lift, auto driver Prabu was also there. It is an illegal human
rights violation that both Vignesh and Suresh who got severe

10
 injuries kept in a room at the K2 Ayanavaram apolice station without
taking them immediately for medical treatment, contrary to the
judgment of the Supreme Court and the guidelines of the National
Human Rights Commission and Criminal Procedure Code.
It is further infringement that the information about the arrest of
both of them was not informed to their relatives by the police in
charge of the K2 Ayanavaram police station.

5. Vignesh and Suresh have been subjected to a series of tortures at the

police station. Vignesh, who was in custody for no apparent reason,
was taken from the K2 Ayanavaram Police Station to the G-5
Secretariat Quarters Police Station after breakfast and tortured there.
The fact that he died while being taken to a private hospital but police
did not mention the name of the private hospital but mentioned
Kilpauk Government Medical College Hospital is a further human
rights violation. After Vignesh died at G5 police station, Suresh, who
was at K2 police station, was taken to G5 police station.

6. Suresh's mother Karpagambal came to know about the incident only

after the death of Vignesh at once she went to K2 Ayanavaram police
station along with the auto driver Prabhu on 19th April 2022 at 10.30
a.m. She waited for a while in the police station, thereafter the police
responded to her that Suresh was not there, which is a blatant
violation of human rights.

7. Did Suresh appear before the doctor on 19.04.2022? Were the injuries
on his body registered by the doctors at the hospital? Has proper
medical evidence been obtained for injuries in the body? Was the
report submitted to the Chennai Metropolitan Criminal Judicial
Magistrate along with the doctor's statements? Is this information
stated in the remand report of the Metropolitan Criminal Judicial
Magistrate? Not knowing the presence of injuries and not mentioning
them by the Metropolitan Criminal Judicial Magistrate is tantamount
to what Sathankulam Criminal Justice Judicial Magistrate Saravanan
did. The rules to be followed when an arrested person is produced

11
 before a Magistrate are not fully followed. This process even continues
today. It is noteworthy that this has taken place in the Chennai
Metropolitan Criminal Court, which may be in the eye of the beholder
of the Chennai High Court.

8. When Suresh was taken to the II Central Jail on 19.04.2022, the

Superintendent of Prisons and the Deputy Director General of Prisons
(DIG) who supervised the prison should be held responsible for not
taking him to Stanley Hospital or any other reputed hospital from the
19th to the 27th night knowing that he needed proper treatment.

9. Not only the prison authorities but also the Director of Prisons should
be held legally and morally responsible for not taking Suresh to
Stanley Hospital till the night of 27.04.2022 even after the news of the
announcement by the Hon'ble Chief Minister in the Assembly on
26.04.2022 that Suresh should be given good treatment was
published in all the newspapers and televisions.

10. On the same day (19.04.2022) after Vignesh's death, police forced his
brother Vijay's house owner to vacate the house thereafter
Pattinapakkam police Inspector Rajeswari went to the house of
Vignesh's brother Vinod while he was taking soap bath and he
was stopped and not permitted to complete his bath and taken as a
criminal even not respecting his right to privacy. The inhuman act of
Pattinapakkam Police Inspector Rajeswari caused a stir in the area
where he lives. It is an act of human rights violation. Who trained
these officials in the police force? The arrest by Pattinapakkam Police
Inspector Rajeswari and the policemen who came with her without
even giving the information that his brother Vignesh, one of Vinod's
family members is dead, is reprehensible and should be punished.
This is a crime of human rights violation.

11. Ms. Rajeswari, Inspector of Police does not have the guts to inform us
that Mr. Vignesh has died in the station itself at Pattinapakkam
station. Is her entry has registered in the General Diary (GD)? Who are
they, three un-uniformed policemen in the station? Are they members

12
 of the Chennai City Intelligence Section? Mr. Vinoth was informed
about Mr. Vignesh‟s death information by one of the three persons.
The policeman showed Mr. Vignesh's image from his mobile, is this
the procedure of the police department to inform the family members
of the victim? Mr. Vignesh‟s brothers were taken from
Pattinambakkam station up to G-5 Secretariat Colony Police Station.
They were kept there for a long time, without allowing them to see his
younger brother Mr. Vignesh‟s dead body. It was not taken to the
knowledge of the Hon'ble CM by the competent authority, it makes
ashamed to Mr. Udhayanithi Staling, MLA of what happened without
his knowledge in his Constituency jurisdiction.

12. Mr. Mohandoss, Inspector of Police, F-4, Thousand Lights Police

Station brought both Mr. Vinoth and his younger brother to the G-5
police station from Pattinambakkam. He gave a bundle of Rs 500/-
notes of Rs 50,000/- to Mr. Vinoth. An ununiformed policeman gave
him Rs 100, Rs 200, and Rs 500 notes for the sum of another Rs
50,000/-, they have given him two bundles of money. The policemen
were well planned and gave the money through their owner Mr.
Ranjith. Over the phone, he convinced Mr. Vinoth to get the amount
for Mr. Vignesh‟s funeral ceremony. Doesn‟t know the action of the
Inspector Mr. Mohandoss by the City Commissioner? Was he not
informed by the Intelligence Bureau officials? Has it happened without
the knowledge of the Police Commissioner? Doesn‟t know the ADGP
who is involved in the various investigation process of the Intelligence
Department about this massacre? Otherwise, whether the wrong
information had been given to the CM to speak in the assembly
session was held?

13. Both brothers of Mr. Vignesh were under illegal custody at G-5 Police
station on 19.04.2022, they were not even allowed to see his younger
brother Mr. Vignesh‟s dead body. without parents / without shelter /
without Aadhar card / without ration card / why not, even without
voters identity card, is this the Police Officials of Tamil Nadu capital,

13
 Chennai gave a highly disrespected treatment? Who allowed to all
these happened in the jurisdiction of the son of Hon‟ble CM, Mr.
Udhayanithi Stalin, MLA?

14. Mr. Vinoth only allowed see his younger brother Mr. Vignesh‟s body at
Keezhlpakkam hospital mortuary on 20.04.2022, before that his
mobile was taken by the policeman. He was not allowed to take a
photograph of Mr. Vignesh.

15. The family members were not allowed to see and take a photograph of
Mr. Vignesh body, even though the Chennai High Court had given an
order, why the Metropolitan Magistrate Mr. Ingarsol also didn‟t inform
them? Is this not contempt of the High Court Judgement? The post-
mortem report and copy of the video clippings must be given to the
family members to allow to build confidence, because their cell phones
acquired by the Policemen.

16. Why this 18th April 2022 police brutal torture incident was not
discussed in the assembly till 26th April 2022? Even the opposition
parties have discussed and talked about the issues related to the
protection of the Tamil Nadu Governor, to talk about the custodial
death of Mr. Vignesh in the assembly was not permitted by the
Hon‟ble Speaker why? Is there any reason behind this? Or is there
caste discrimination even in the assembly? Is this the command over
to the Director of Police Department and Deputy Director of Home
Affairs to remain silent? Or else, somebody else ordered them, a
question arises. What is the reason? Why this delay? It shocked us,
why the Home Affairs even didn't use his 110 power to discuss the
issue which was published in the police paper news, in the assembly?
Is there any special reason for delaying the treatment process for
27.04.2022, even the Chief Minister has recommended on 26.04.2022
to take action for the further special medical treatment in the
assembly? Then Mr. Suresh was shifted to Stanley Medical College
Hospital. Is the Prison authority working lazy? if there is nothing
happened, Why the Government or Police Department did not release

14
 the footage of the Iyanavaram, Secretariat Police stations‟ CCTV
cameras not published till today transparently? Is the police
department not obeying the CM's order? Is the situation for CM, who
is responsible for the Police Department? If the police department is
like this, Torture free Tamilagam! Custodial deaths free Tamilagam!
Encounter free Tamilagam!, how can our CM ensure the public?

17. Even the DGP recommended the CBCID inquiry on 21.04.2022, why
was not the name of the Inquiry Officer announced? Why was Mr.
Vignesh FIR filed under Cr.P.C.176 (A) and the FIR of Mr. Suresh not
uploaded on the Police Department website? What is the secret there?

18. Altogether, the Chennai High Court, State Legal Aid Commission,
State Human Rights Commission, newly constituted the Commission
for SC/ST under the leadership of retired High Court Judge of
Chennai are they keeping silent till now in this critical situation? Even
though they have the power to take a suo-moto action for this human
rights violation, why are they still refusing?

Chronological brief of the case of Custodial death of Mr. Vignesh

S.No Date Incidents

1. 18.04.2022 Night: 11.00
Vignesh, Suresh & auto driver Prabhu were stopped at
the Kellys signal and were brutally tortured by the police
officials.
Night: 11.00
Like three members, horse owners Ranjith and Maan
reached Kellys signal through share auto. Ranjit agreed
that Vignesh was working for him. Then the police
torture continued.
2. 19.04.2022 Early Morning 2.30
Vignesh, Suresh and Prabhu were taken to K2
Ayanavaram police station.
Early Morning 3.00

15
 Auto driver Prabhu returned to his home from K2
Ayanavaram police station.
3. 19.04.2022 Morning
Breakfast was given to Suresh & Vignesh at the K2
police station. Then Vignesh was taken from the K2
police station to the G5 police station. After continuous
torture at the G5 police station, he fell sick.
Immediately he was rushed to a private hospital and
later to the Kilpauk Government Hospital. While he was
on the way to the hospital, Vignesh died.
On the same day morning at 10 o‟clock, Prabhu was
shifted from the K-2 police station to the G-5 police
station. From the G-5 police station, Prabhu was taken
to the court and then was remanded and lodged in
Puzhal II prison.
4. 19.04.2022 Morning 10.30
Suresh‟s mother, Karpagammal was searching for
Suresh using Prabhu‟s auto in the K-2 police station
based on the information given by Prabhu. The police
officials refused permission to Karpagammal to meet
Suresh.
On the same day at around 10.00 a.m Pattinapakkam
police station inspector Rajeswari took Vinoth who was
bathing at his Pattinapakkam house to the police
station. Vignesh‟s brother Vijay and Vinod were taken
to the auto to the G-5 Secretariat Colony police station.
While on the way to the G-5 police station they were
informed that their brother Vignesh had died in police
custody.
Vinoth‟s other brother was also brought to the police
station. Thousand light police station inspector
Mohandass handed over one lakh rupees as 2 bunches

16
 of 500 rupees notes to Vinod and told him to spend this
amount for Vignesh's funeral. The same night all of
them were picked up from the G-5 police station and
arrangements were made to sleep in a nearby mansion.
5. 20.04.2022 Morning
They were taken from the mansion to the G-5 police
station. Then, they were taken from the G-5 police
station to the Kilpauk Government Hospital. At around
12 noon only Vinod was allowed to see Vighnesh's body.
At that time Judicial Magistrate Ingersoll was also
present.
150 police officials were escorting Vignesh‟s family
members to the cemetery on the same day. The family
members were not only disallowed to see Vignesh's body
but also not allowed to take Vignesh‟s body into their
home.
Evening 5.00
After Vignesh‟s funeral, the family members were
allowed to go home.
6. 21.04.2022 DGP C Sylendra Babu announced that Vignesh‟s case is
transferred to CB-CID and also that 3 police officials
were suspended.
Adv. Santhakumar, Suresh‟s advocate, tried to meet
Suresh in Puzhal prison, but he could not meet Suresh
in the prison. The police officials went to auto driver
Prabhu‟s house and searched for him. The police also
searched for Vinod and his family members in several
places.
7. 22.04.2022 Morning
Karpagammal, Suresh's mother, was trying to see her
son in Puzhal prison. Suresh was going to be produced
before the court so they were not allowing Karpagammal

17
 to see her son.
Adv. Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of People‟s
Watch sent a separate petition to: 1. The Hon‟ble Chief
Justice of the Madras High Court, 2. The Chairperson,
The Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission, 3.
The Executive Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Legal
Service Authority and urged Suo Moto action against the
custodial death of Vignesh individually through e-mail.
8. 25.04.2022 When the Chief Justice of Madras High Court visited
Madurai, a petition was filed in Madurai asking him to
take the Suo-Moto case through the Registrar of the
Madras Bench of High Court Madurai.
Adv. B.S. Ajeetha, Vinoth‟s advocate, asked the Chennai
Commissioner to give them CCTV footage within 24
hours to which there is no reply so far. And also
requested the Dean of Kilpauk Government Hospital to
give Vignesh‟s post-mortem report and post-mortem
video.
9. 26.04.2022 The Dean of Kilpauk Government Hospital replied by
stating to come with Vignesh‟s relatives to get his
autopsy report and video.
10. 26.04.2022 Suresh's mother Karpagammal tried to meet her son in
Puzhal prison, but she could not see her son.

Prof. Jawahirullah, Mr. Velmurugan, Aloor Shanavas

and opposition political party leaders called the
attention motion regarding the custodial torture death of
Vignesh in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly.

While responding to the call attention motion moved by

the political party members, the Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister announced a compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs to

18
 Vignesh‟s family members and also informed the
Assembly that the government would bear the medical
expenses of the treatment provided to Suresh.
11. 27.04.2022 Vinod went to meet the Dean of the Kilpauk Government
Hospital to ask for the autopsy report. But the office was
closed.
12. 27.04.2022 Suresh‟s mother Karpagammal went to Puzhal to meet
her son, but her attempts were denied.
13. 28.04.2022 Adv. B.S. Ajeetha mentioned the Madras High Court in
front of Justice P N Prakash regarding filing writ
petitions on behalf of Suresh‟s mother Karpagammal. At
the intervention of the High Court judge, The Public
Prosecutor informed that Suresh was being admitted to
the Stanley Hospital. Therefore, the writ petition was not
filed.

For the first time after so many interventions, Suresh‟s

mother saw Suresh from a distance at Stanley Hospital.
14. 29.04.2022 Adv. P B Mohan and Adv. B.S. Ajeetha appeared before
the Metropolitan Magistrate Court No. 2 with Mr. Vinod,
brother of Vignesh, and filed a petition for the return of
the amount of Rs. 1 Lakh paid by the Police officials.
The Magistrate assured after issuing a summons and
getting the statements from Mr. Vinod.

A petition was filed before the Tamil Nadu State

Commission of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes to take action on the custodial death of Vignesh
by his brother Vinod.
15. 30.04.2022 Vinod and his brothers received Rs. 10 lakh
compensation from the District Collector, Chennai.

19
20
From: Henri Tiphagne <henri@pwtn.org>
Date: Friday, 22 April 2022 at 12:57 PM
To: regrgenl@nic.in <regrgenl@nic.in>
Subject: Seeking suo moto action by High Court - Custodial Death of
Vignssh in Chennai

Most Urgent :
To
The Hon‟ble Chief Justice of the Madras High Court,
High Court Compound,
Chennai – 600104

Through,

The Registrar General,

Madras High Court,
Chennai

Esteemed and Most Respected Sir,

People‟s Watch is a human rights organization involved in human rights

monitoring, intervention, legal assistance, mediation, human rights
documentation, human rights publication, human rights training, human
rights campaigning, networking, research and human rights education. We
have been taking action on behalf of the victims from Tamil Nadu and
around the country regarding blatant violations of human rights suffered by
them. Our “HelpLine” is also a part of the service provided by People‟s
Watch.

It is with utmost pain at heart that I bring to your kind attention the case of
a “ a death in police custody” that is alleged to have taken place in the G-5
Secretariat Colony Police Station leading to the death of a 25-year-old young
lad who earned his living by taking people for horse rides at the Marina
Beach, Chennai. This incident is alleged to have taken place on the night of
April 18, 2022 when a young duo, Vignesh and his friend Suresh were taken
into custody in the late night at Kellys by the night round police and
tortured brutally using the police helmet, then rushed to a nearby private
hospital and then taken into police custody at the G – 5 PS. One of them,
namely, Vignesh is stated to have developed health complications in the
morning and is stated to have died while being rushed to the Kilpauk

21
Medical College hospital. The death is stated to have taken place in the early
hours of April 19, 2022 morning. The autopsy of the body was done on the
19th of April and the burial was also held on the same day. What is more
surprising is that this has taken place when the Tamil Nadu Legislative
Assembly is in session and there have so far been no discussions on the
same. The second young man who is the only witness to the incident is now
in judicial custody, having been remanded to judicial custody in the early
hours of the same day ie 19th April, 2022.

The media has also largely remained silent on this incident and the family
members of Vignesh are wailing that they were never allowed to see him in
the G – 5 police station or later his body before or even after autopsy. All
this is contrary to the extensive directions of the Hon‟ble Madras High Court
Bench at Madurai in the case of Santhosh v/s The District Collector,
Madurai District and Others in W.P. (MS) No. 12608 of 2020 dated
02.12.2020 which is attached, wherein all guidelines of the Hon‟ble Court
related to custodial death, the process of how and by whom the postmortem
in such cases is to be performed, the right of the kith and kin of the family
to not only have access to the body but also the right it take photographs
even before the autopsy commences and the right of the family thereafter to
have the body retained in the mortuary till a copy of the post mortem
certificate and videograph of the same are handed over to them for them to
decide whether they need a second post mortem or not.

The last paragraph of the above judgment further directs that “the autopsy
report should be prepared expeditiously and handed over to the
investigating officer in the case so that the filing of the final report is
not delayed. A copy of the autopsy report, as well as a video, should
be simultaneously given to the legal heir or representatives of the
family of the deceased. This alone will enable them to take recourse
to legal remedies immediately. If after receipt of the autopsy report,
the legal heir/representatives of the deceased family give in writing
that they intend to move the High Court, the body shall be preserved
in the mortuary for at least 48 hours. If the body is disposed of either

22
by cremation or otherwise in the meanwhile, the very purpose of
holding a second post-mortem will be rendered infructuous. All of us
know that hasty cremation in the tragic Hathras gang rape case led
to controversy. It is in the interest of the police to take the family of
the deceased into confidence and avoid rushing things through. They
are stakeholders in the process and the police have to treat them
accordingly”. Not only has all this been not been done in this case, but
also the body was buried the same day contrary to the directions of the
above-mentioned judgment and without the family being allowed to take the
body to their house.

If today there is some semblance of the process of justice having been put in
place in the case of the custodial death of Bennicks and Jayaraj, the credit
for that largely is due to the suo moto intervention of the Madurai Bench of
the Madras High Court headed by Hon'ble Thiru. Justice P. N. Prakash in
the year 2020.

What is most shocking is the allegation that the post-mortem in this case of
Vignesh took place in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate (enquiring the
case u/s 176(1)(A) Cr.P.C. ) who did not adhere to the directions of the
Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court before the commencement of the
autopsy and after the autopsy was over.

Therefore, it is at this juncture, that I plead that the Hon‟ble Madras High
Court kindly takes suo moto cognizance of such a horrendous death in
custody, allegedly arising out of injuries caused due to torture before the
formal arrest, non-adherence to the mandates of the law to rush him for an
urgent medical treatment which could have saved his life. The Judicial
Magistrate could have upheld the majesty of law had he implemented the
judgment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court before and after
the autopsy. May I, therefore, seek your goodself for initiating an urgent suo
moto intervention in this matter which is already delayed.

People‟s Watch will stand obliged to your good self for such an intervention
for the cause of upholding custodial justice.

23
I am also providing here for your reference, the links to the two news articles
covering this incident, on 20th April in News Minute
(https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/chennai-man-dies-police-
custody-family-alleges-torture-cops-163084) and on 21st April in The Indian
Express (https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/chennai-youth-
dies-in-police-custody-after-being-beaten-up-by-cops-7880790/).

Yours Sincerely,
Henri Tiphagne,
Executive Director,
People‟s Watch
Encl :
Order copy of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in the case of
Santhosh v/s The District Collector, Madurai District and Others in W.P.
(MS) No. 12608 of 2020 dated 02.12.2020.

From: Henri Tiphagne <henri@pwtn.org>

Date: Friday, 22 April 2022 at 1:21 PM
To: shrc@tn.gov.in <shrc@tn.gov.in>
Subject: Seeking suo moto action by High Court - Custodial Death of
Vignesh in Chennai

The Chairperson,
The Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission
„Thiruvarangam‟
143, P.S. Kumarasamy Raja Salai, (Greenways Road)
Chennai 600028, Tamil Nadu.

Through the Registrar,

The Tamil Nadu SHRC,
„Thiruvarangam‟
143, P.S. Kumarasamy Raja Salai, (Greenways Road)
Chennai 600028, Tamil Nadu.

Respected Sir,

People‟s Watch is a human rights organization involved in human rights

monitoring, intervention, legal assistance, mediation, human rights
documentation, human rights publication, human rights training, human
rights campaigning, networking, research and human rights education. We
have been taking action on behalf of the victims from Tamil Nadu and
around the country regarding blatant violations of human rights suffered by

24
them. Our “HelpLine” is also a part of the service provided by People‟s
Watch.
It is with utmost pain at heart that I bring to your kind attention the case of
a “a death in police custody” that is alleged to have taken place in the G-5
Secretariat Colony Police Station leading to the death of a 25-year-old young
lad who earned his living by taking people for horse rides at the Marina
Beach, Chennai. This incident is alleged to have taken place on the night of
April 18, 2022 when a young duo, Vignesh and his friend Suresh were taken
into custody in the late night at Kellys by the night round police and
tortured brutally using the police helmet, then rushed to a nearby private
hospital and then taken into police custody at the G – 5 PS. One of them,
namely, Vignesh is stated to have developed health complications in the
morning and is stated to have died while being rushed to the Kilpauk
Medical College hospital. The death is stated to have taken place in the early
hours of April 19, 2022 morning. The autopsy of the body was done on the
19th of April and the cremation was also held on the same day. What is more
surprising is that this has taken place when the Tamil Nadu Legislative
Assembly is in session and there have so far been no discussions on the
same. The second young man who is the only witness to the incident is now
in judicial custody, having been remanded to judicial custody in the early
hours of the same day ie 19th April, 2022.
The media has also largely remained silent on this incident and the family
members of Vignesh are wailing that they were never allowed to see him in
the G – 5 police station or later his body before or even after autopsy. All
this is contrary to the extensive directions of the Hon‟ble Madras High Court
Bench at Madurai in the case of Santhosh v/s The District Collector,
Madurai District and Others in W.P. (MS) No. 12608 of 2020 dated
02.12.2020 which is attached, wherein all guidelines of the Hon‟ble Court
related to custodial death, the process of how and by whom the postmortem
in such cases is to be performed, the right of the kith and kin of the family
to not only have access to the body but also the right it take photographs
even before the autopsy commences and the right of the family thereafter to
have the body retained in the mortuary till a copy of the post mortem

25
certificate and videograph of the same are handed over to them for them to
decide whether they need a second post mortem or not.
The last paragraph of the above judgment further directs that “the autopsy
report should be prepared expeditiously and handed over to the
investigating officer in the case so that the filing of the final report is
not delayed. A copy of the autopsy report, as well as a video, should
be simultaneously given to the legal heir or representatives of the
family of the deceased. This alone will enable them to take recourse
to legal remedies immediately. If after receipt of the autopsy report,
the legal heir/representatives of the deceased family give in writing
that they intend to move the High Court, the body shall be preserved
in the mortuary for at least 48 hours. If the body is disposed of either
by cremation or otherwise in the meanwhile, the very purpose of
holding a second post-mortem will be rendered infructuous. All of us
know that hasty cremation in the tragic Hathras gang rape case led
to controversy. It is in the interest of the police to take the family of
the deceased into confidence and avoid rushing things through. They
are stakeholders in the process and the police have to treat them
accordingly”. Not only has all this been not been done in this case, but
also the body was burried the same day contrary to the directions of the
above-mentioned judgment and without the family being allowed to take the
body to their house.

What is most shocking is the allegation that the post-mortem in this case of
Vignesh took place in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate ( enquiring the
case u/s 176(1)(A) Cr.P.C. ) who did not adhere to the directions of the
Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court before the commencement of the
autopsy and after the autopsy was over.
Therefore, it is at this juncture, that I plead that the Hon‟ble Tamilnadu
SHRC kindly urgent takes suo moto cognizance of such a horrendous death
in custody, allegedly arising out of injuries caused due to torture before the
formal arrest, non-adherence to the mandates of the law to rush him for an
urgent medical treatment which could have saved his life. The Judicial

26
Magistrate could have upheld the majesty of law had he implemented the
judgment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court before and after
the autopsy. May I, therefore, seek your goodself for initiating an urgent suo
moto intervention in this matter which is already delayed .
People‟s Watch will stand obliged to your good self for such an intervention
for the cause of upholding custodial justice.
I am also providing here for your reference, the links to the two news articles
covering this incident, on 20th April in News Minute
(https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/chennai-man-dies-police-
custody-family-alleges-torture-cops-163084) and on 21st April in The Indian
Express (https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/chennai-youth-
dies-in-police-custody-after-being-beaten-up-by-cops-7880790/).

Yours Sincerely,
Henri Tiphagne,
Executive Director,
People‟s Watch
Encl :
Order copy of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in the case of
Santhosh v/s The District Collector, Madurai District and Others in W.P.
(MS) No. 12608 of 2020 dated 02.12.2020.

27
From: Henri Tiphagne <henri@pwtn.org>
Date: Friday, 22 April 2022 at 1:24 PM
To: tnslsa@gmail.com <tnslsa@gmail.com>
Subject: Seeking suo moto action by High Court - Custodial Death of
Vignesh in Chennai

To,
The Executive Chairman,
Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority,
North Fort Road, High Court Campus,
Chennai - 600104

Through the Member Secretary,

Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority,
North Fort Road, High Court Campus,
Chennai - 600104

Respected Sir,

People‟s Watch is a human rights organization involved in human rights

monitoring, intervention, legal assistance, mediation, human rights
documentation, human rights publication, human rights training, human
rights campaigning, networking, research and human rights education. We
have been taking action on behalf of the victims from Tamil Nadu and
around the country regarding blatant violations of human rights suffered by
them. Our “HelpLine” is also a part of the service provided by People‟s
Watch.
It is with utmost pain at heart that I bring to your kind attention the case of
a “a death in police custody” that is alleged to have taken place in the G-5
Secretariat Colony Police Station leading to the death of a 25-year-old young
lad who earned his living by taking people for horse rides at the Marina
Beach, Chennai. This incident is alleged to have taken place on the night of
April 18, 2022 when a young duo, Vignesh and his friend Suresh were taken
into custody in the late night at Kellys by the night round police and
tortured brutally using the police helmet, then rushed to a nearby private
hospital and then taken into police custody at the G – 5 PS. One of them,
namely, Vignesh is stated to have developed health complications in the
morning and is stated to have died while being rushed to the Kilpauk
Medical College hospital. The death is stated to have taken place in the early
28
hours of April 19, 2022 morning. The autopsy of the body was done on the
19th of April and the buried was also held on the same day. What is more
surprising is that this has taken place when the Tamil Nadu Legislative
Assembly is in session and there have so far been no discussions on the
same. The second young man who is the only witness to the incident is now
in judicial custody, having been remanded to judicial custody in the early
hours of the same day ie 19th April, 2022.
The media has also largely remained silent on this incident and the family
members of Vignesh are wailing that they were never allowed to see him in
the G – 5 police station or later his body before or even after autopsy. All
this is contrary to the extensive directions of the Hon‟ble Madras High Court
Bench at Madurai in the case of Santhosh v/s The District Collector,
Madurai District and Others in W.P. (MS) No. 12608 of 2020 dated
02.12.2020 which is attached, wherein all guidelines of the Hon‟ble Court
related to custodial death, the process of how and by whom the postmortem
in such cases is to be performed, the right of the kith and kin of the family
to not only have access to the body but also the right it take photographs
even before the autopsy commences and the right of the family thereafter to
have the body retained in the mortuary till a copy of the post mortem
certificate and videograph of the same are handed over to them for them to
decide whether they need a second post mortem or not.
The last paragraph of the above judgment further directs that “the autopsy
report should be prepared expeditiously and handed over to the
investigating officer in the case so that the filing of the final report is
not delayed. A copy of the autopsy report, as well as a video, should
be simultaneously given to the legal heir or representatives of the
family of the deceased. This alone will enable them to take recourse
to legal remedies immediately. If after receipt of the autopsy report,
the legal heir/representatives of the deceased family give in writing
that they intend to move the High Court, the body shall be preserved
in the mortuary for at least 48 hours. If the body is disposed of either
by cremation or otherwise in the meanwhile, the very purpose of
holding a second post-mortem will be rendered infructuous. All of us

29
know that hasty cremation in the tragic Hathras gang rape case led
to controversy. It is in the interest of the police to take the family of
the deceased into confidence and avoid rushing things through. They
are stakeholders in the process and the police have to treat them
accordingly”. Not only has all this been not been done in this case, but
also the body was buried the same day contrary to the directions of the
above-mentioned judgment and without the family being allowed to take the
body to their house.

What is most shocking is the allegation that the post-mortem in this case of
Vignesh took place in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate ( enquiring the
case u/s 176(1)(A) Cr.P.C. ) who did not adhere to the directions of the
Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court before the commencement of the
autopsy and after the autopsy was over.
Therefore, it is at this juncture, that I plead that the Hon‟ble Tamilnadu
SHRC kindly urgent takes suo moto cognizance of such a horrendous death
in custody, allegedly arising out of injuries caused due to torture before the
formal arrest, non-adherence to the mandates of the law to rush him for an
urgent medical treatment which could have saved his life. The Judicial
Magistrate could have upheld the majesty of law had he implemented the
judgment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court before and after
the autopsy. May I, therefore, seek your goodself for initiating an urgent suo
moto intervention in this matter which is already delayed .
People‟s Watch will stand obliged to your good self for such an intervention
for the cause of upholding custodial justice.
I am also providing here for your reference, the links to the two news articles
covering this incident, on 20th April in News Minute
(https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/chennai-man-dies-police-
custody-family-alleges-torture-cops-163084) and on 21st April in The Indian
Express (https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/chennai-youth-
dies-in-police-custody-after-being-beaten-up-by-cops-7880790/).

Yours Sincerely,
Henri Tiphagne,
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Executive Director,
People‟s Watch
Encl :
Order copy of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in the case of
Santhosh v/s The District Collector, Madurai District and Others in W.P.
(MS) No. 12608 of 2020 dated 02.12.2020.

Recommendations:

A. Related to this Case:

1. The DGP of the CBCID, who is involved in the inquiry, without any
delay, must inform the name of the inquiry officer immediately. Only if
we know the inquiry officer, then only immediately we could make the
witnesses meet the concerned authorities to narrate the brutal police
attack.
2. The police department must be registered the case in IPC 302 under
sec (3) (2) (i) of SC/SC POA. Because both the torture victims Mr.
Suresh, who was injured and died person who died Mr. Vignesh both
of them were belonging to the SC community.
3. Persons who were involved in the incident that took place on
18.04.2022, CBCID intelligence department officers, temporarily
suspended Sub-Inspectors, and two policemen who were must be
arrested. In further, the person-in-charge for Kellys night rounds
Inspector, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner E2
Iyanavaram and G5 secretariat Inspectors, Pattinambakkam Inspector
Ms. Rajeswari, and Thousand Lights Inspector Mr. Mohandoss are
must be arrested.
4. Both the family members of Mr. Suresh and Mr. Vignesh and the
witness Mr. Prabhu, the Auto driver's family must be given proper
protection according to the Judgement of the Supreme Court and
High Court under the Protection of the witness Act 2019. The Chennai
Chief Sessions Magistrate should take suo-moto action to implement
this, which the petition received from the respective victims

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 individually. The action has to take for giving protection to their
residential areas as well as their working place.
5. CBCID without any delay immediately should collect all CCTV camera
footages of the K2 Ayanavaram Police Station, the G5 Secretariat
Quarters Police Station and the Pattinappakkam Police Station on the
18th, 19th and 20th under the jurisdiction of the Chennai
Metropolitan Police Station, as per the Supreme Court order. This
footage should be kept safely for investigation.
6. In view of the importance of this case, earlier the Chennai High Court
had arbitrarily taken up the Satankulam Jayaraj-Pennix case
similarly the Chief Justice of the Chennai High Court, should direct
the Division Bench to take up the case itself in four sessions in May
without any delay, even though the courts are on leave, moreover take
this case into consideration and monitor the CBCID's investigation to
ensure that no more such police torture and consequent police deaths
occur.
7. The Chief Justice of the Chennai High Court has to direct the Protocol
Judge (II) to proceed with the immediate administration of the
Chennai Metropolitan Magistrate (II) hearing the Vignesh case 176 (1)
(A) Cr.P.C. also need to investigate why the orders of Justice G.R.
Swaminathan in the case of Santosh versus District Collector issued
on 02.12.2020 have not been fully implemented in this case.
Vinoth, the elder brother of Vignesh was allowed to see the body of
Vignesh in the mortuary, though Vinoth did not have a cell phone,
why the Magistrate did not inform Vinoth that he can take a photo of
his brother's body and also it is allowed to turn over the body and
take a photo. Furthermore why the Metropolitan Magistrate Ingersoll
did not inform the victim's family that a copy of the autopsy report
and video should be given after the completion of the post-mortem
then to take the body after informing the doctors who conducted
it and getting no objection before receiving the body through the
Dean. In the Sathankulam case, the Criminal Judicial Magistrates
have been making the same mistake in other cases as the conduct of
the case against Magistrate Saravanan has not been investigated. In
this case, if the Magistrate Ingersol had acted in accordance with the

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 High Court order, Vignesh's family and their supporters would have
obtained a copy of the autopsy report and a video copy of this case
and examined it with the help of experts and would have petitioned
the High Court for a second autopsy if they deemed necessary.
8. The Director of Medical Education should immediately inquire as to
why the Dean and forensic doctors did not immediately give Vignesh's
brother a copy of the autopsy report and video on the same day
(20.04.2022) immediately after Vignesh's autopsy without any delay.
The Director should issue a comprehensive and complete circular to
all the Deans of all Medical Colleges and the Heads of Forensic
Medicine Departments in Tamil Nadu, quoting all the orders contained
in the judgment of the Chennai High Court Judge GR. Swaminathan,
issued on 20.02.2020. We would like to point out responsibly that
doctors who perform such post-mortem will be subject to contempt of
court if this circular is not followed properly.
9. The Home Secretary of Tamil Nadu should immediately carry out
quality counselling without any delay for the five brothers of Vignesh
and their families who were affected.
10. The Chennai District Collector should take steps to allot a house
under the government scheme to all the persons belonging to
Vignesh's family who do not have Aadhar card, family card, voter card
and place to live.A comprehensive rehabilitation program for the
victim's family under the SC / ST Act has to be implemented. If there
are government officials who do not take such action deliberately, a
case should be registered against them under Section 4 of the SC / ST
Act.

II. Measures to be taken urgently by the Hon'ble Chief Minister in his

capacity as the Minister in charge of the Police on the forthcoming
Police Grant Demand to be held in the Assembly to stop the torture
completely.

We believe our Chief Minister after watching the movie „Jai Bheem‟ cried,
where gruesome custodial violence is depicted and the poor socio-economic
status of the victims of police violence. The Chief Minister in his young age

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when he was arrested under MISA he had experienced the excess of police
while he was in the custody. We plead our Chief Minister to uphold Social
Justice by presenting custodial violence and the loss thereafter putting an
end to fake encounter in this civilized society governed by rule of law. To
uphold rule of law we put forth the following recommendations.

1. In 2006 the Supreme Court of India Prakash Singh case directed the
Government to have Police Complaints Authority and in 2013 the
Tamil Nadu State Government in its Police Reform Act brought in
State and District Police Complaint Authority and we demand
implementation of the direction by appointing retired High Court
Judge in the State and retired District Judge in the District Police
Complaint Authority. The Police Complaint Authority should be
sufficiently funded and to do proper investigation into the complaints
there should be a well-equipped unit. So that if at all a complaint is
lodged against a police immediate action is taken against the police
and thereby ensure Tamil Nadu a torture free and nil police excess
torture free state.

2. In 2021 Supreme Court in the case of Balbir Singh directed every

police station, CBCID, CBI, NIA premises including every room in the
building should have 24 hours working audio & video CCTV cameras
to monitor and make the law enforcement accountable to the public.
The CCTV footage should be stored and made available to public for
18 months. We demand that the State Government should allot
enough funds to comply with the direction and cater to the public
during the police demands for discussion of grant in this current
Assembly session.

3. It is disappointing to note that the State Human Rights Commission

which on 17.04.2022 completed its 25th year did not take Vignesh
case Suo Moto and it explicitly shows the inability of its Chair and
many posts in the Commission is vacant and investigation department
of the Commission needs more police officers and information on
human rights and information about the facing of the Commission

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 and cases need to be uploaded on the website. It is pathetic to note at
about 4000 complaints received by the commission was not numbered
and taken up for hearing. More than two thousand cases were not
delegated to its members due to staff shortage. Even in many cases
where decisions were made and recommendations were given to the
Home Department of the State no actions were initiated against the
erring police, though there are strict directions in vogue as per the
judgment of the Full Bench Judge of the Madras High Court. If the
State of Tamil Nadu wants to be a State upholding Social Justice then
it should be a state free from all forms of human rights violations.

4. The newly constituted State SC/ST Commission should have the

knowledge on United Nations Paris Principles which is the core
objective of human rights institution and it is the right time to give an
orientation to its functionaries. Though the Chair is a retired Judge he
or she should be a team player in handling human rights issues. The
need to take up cases Suo Moto and engaging itself in research and
come out with its full report in the matter of human rights concern.
The Commission should entertain third party representation of an
issue rather than rejecting it as it is the present practice. So there
exists a need not only for the SC/ST commission but for the
Disability, Women, Children, Minority and Human Rights
Commissions be given orientation on Paris Principles by International
and National experts and it should be done immediately. We demand
our Chief Minister to give priority in this matter during Law & Police
demand for grants discussion.

C. Recommendations to Legal Aid

1. The Tamil Nadu Free Legal Aid Board even 35 years back used to take
up cases of custodial violence, police excess and extra judicial killings
and file cases before the High Court and were pioneers in doing such
initiatives now that practice does not continue and we demand the

35
 Legal Services Authority to appoint senior advocates in such matters
and take action against the perpetrator who violates human rights.

2. To prevent custodial violence and torture in police station, Legal

Services Authority should appoint Lawyers to monitor the police
station and their phone numbers and communication address should
be displayed inside and outside of the police station. The advocates
who are appointed should immediately report the incidents of police
violence to the Committee and immediate action should be initiated.
Only though multi-pronged approach in handling police custodial
torture and human rights violation Social Justice could be realized in
our State. So, we demand our Chief Minister these recommendations
to create a State free from custodial violence and torture and thereby
uphold Social Justice.

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