HC directs CB-CID to investigate suspicious death of workers

Madurai

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday directed the CB-CID to investigate the suspicious death of two Dalit daily wage workers.

Justice P. Rajamanickam, hearing the plea of the deceased workers’ wives, directed that investigation of the case be handed over to the CB-CID from the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Virudhunagar.

An officer not below the rank of DSP shall be appointed to investigate the case, the court said. An independent agency should investigate the case as the petitioners had complained against the Virudhunagar police for getting involved in the death of the workers, the court observed.

The petitioners, G. Mariammal and Anantha Selvi of Virudhunagar district, said that their husbands died under mysterious circumstances. Gnanasekar, husband of Mariammal, and Thilagaraj, husband of Anantha Selvi, had left home on November 20, 2017, and did not return home.

Meanwhile, the Sattur police informed them that both were apprehended on the charge of sand theft. Later, Vachakarapatti police informed them that their bodies were kept at the Government Hospital in Virudhunagar. The petitioners alleged that there were injury marks on the bodies of their husbands.

They were informed by friends of their husbands that they were apprehended by the police while excavating river sand and the others had managed to escape. However, the petitioners had complained that neither the police nor the doctors had provided them with the post mortem report. Instead, a complaint was lodged against them for theft of sand.

The petitioners suspected that this could be a case of custodial death as the guidelines for conducting post mortem were not followed and sought an inquiry into the case by the CB-CID.