Rasakannu and Parvathi were a tribal couple, with four children, making a living as agricultural labourers, living in huts near Mudhanai in Virudhachalam taluk in South Arcot district (now Cuddalore). On March 20, 1993, Rasakannu, 45, left home at 6 a.m. in search of work. At noon, J. Antonysamy, a sub-inspector of the Kammapuram station, came along with five policemen and enquired about him.
Without uttering a word, the policemen picked up Rathinam, the elder brother of Rasakannu; his wife Parvathi; her two sons aged 18 and 13; and Govindaraj, a relative working in a rice mill. The policemen took them in a van to the Kammapuram station, about 20 km away. The van belonged to a tour operator.
At the station, the tribals learnt that Kadhirvel Padayachi of Gopalapuram had filed a complaint that 43 sovereigns of gold, valued at ₹1,30,000, was stolen from his home. Antonysamy beat the tribals with a cane. They were asked about the whereabouts of Rasakannu and the stolen jewels. Parvathi recalled, “Without provocation, the sub-inspector started beating me with a cane. Thereafter, he beat my two sons and my brother-in-law.”
Relatives beaten up
They were made to sleep in a thatched shed adjacent to the station that night. The next day, the policemen brought Rasakannu’s elder sister Achi, her step-son Kullan, 45, and her own son Kolanchi, 16, to the station from Pandanallur in Thanjavur district. They were also beaten. Around noon, the sub-inspector received a call from the Virudhachalam station about the apprehending of Rasakannu. At 4 p.m., a police team brought Rasakannu to Kammapuram from Virudhachalam. The police released Parvathi, her sons, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law. She was asked to bring food for her husband the next morning.
The same day, Antonysamy tied the hands of Rasakannu to a window and those of Govindaraj and Kullan to another window. They were repeatedly beaten by policemen and asked about the stolen jewels. Next afternoon, as Parvathi returned with food, she saw her husband and relatives stripped and beaten brutally. She pleaded with the SI not to beat her husband. Antonysamy beat her with a lathi and asked her not to scream. The police untied the hands of Rasakannu, Govindaraj, and Kullan. Since Rasakannu could not move, the policemen lifted him to the thatched hut, where Parvathi served him food. “While Govindaraj and Kullan ate their food, Rasakannu swallowed some rice and could not eat any more. At this point, Antonysamy and constable A. Veerasamy beat Rasakannu on the chest. Parvathi was also beaten. Both sustained injuries,” reads the report of B. Perumalsamy, then Inspector-General of Police, CB-CID, who investigated the case.
Medicines given
Then Antonysamy asked a constable to fetch K. Sambandam, a homoeopathy doctor. He gave some medicines to the couple and painkillers to all the four. Then, Rasakannu was dragged to the crime room. , but Govindaraj and Kullan were asked to stay in the same room. The police chased Parvathi out and asked her to bring food the next day. At 3 p.m. on March 22, constable Veerasamy found Rasakannu motionless. He stamped on his chest. As Rasakannu was still motionless, he informed Antonysamy.
At 4.15 p.m., the sub-inspector sent two constables in a van and they informed the residents of Mudhanai that Rasakannu had escaped from the station. Parvathi made enquiries about her husband’s whereabouts. After her efforts failed, she sent telegrams to the Chief Minister and the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. It was the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that came forward to get her justice. K. Balakrishnan, State secretary of the CPI(M) and then South Arcot district secretary, recalls, “Following the disappearance of Rasakannu, our workers in the village took up the matter with us and we lodged a complaint with the then SP. However, knowing well that he had died of torture, policemen went around the villages and asked the people to trace the missing man.”
Then a habeas corpus petition was filed on behalf of Parvathi in the High Court for producing Rasakannu. Retired judge K. Chandru, who was an advocate then, argued her case. “After filing the petition, we made a search for the relatives who were with Rasakannu in the lock-up and traced them at Pandanallur in Thanjavur. After much persuasion, we produced them before the High Court judges. They explained the atrocities committed on them by the police. They testified to the death in custody of Rasakannu and the removal of the body by the sub-inspector,” Mr. Balakrishnan said.
The CB-CID took up the probe under the supervision of Perumalsamy. Two policemen turned approver. The probe revealed that on March 22, as soon as Rasakannu died, Antonysamy separated the others detained in the station to hide the death. At 7 p.m., Antonysamy and Veerasamy carried the body and placed it in a private van. Veersamy got into the vehicle and Antonysamy took the driver’s seat.
Antonysamy shouted at three constables having tea in a stall opposite the station to get into the vehicle. They proceeded to Sethiathope on Kumbakonam Road. The constables noticed Rasakannu in a sitting posture in the seat behind the driver and constable Veerasamy sitting nearby. After passing through Guruvalapparkoil (now in Ariyalur district), the van stopped. Antonysamy and Veerasamy lifted the body and placed it on the highway. When the three constables questioned it, Antonysamy told them that Rasakannu was unconscious and so he was being left there to avoid any further trouble.
Then they returned to the Kammapuram station.
Body recovered
The Meensurity police recovered the body on information from a village revenue assistant. The inspectors who were in charge of the station did not do a proper inquiry. No efforts were made to establish the identity of the deceased until next March. The body was buried. The photographs of the deceased available in the case diary at the Meensurity station were shown to his wife and his brother Rathinam, who identified them as those of Rasakannu.
On March 26, 1993, inspector K. Bashyam, of the Virudhachalam circle, registered a man-missing case at Kammapuram(crime no. 114/ 93) on a complaint from Parvathi. However, the inspector tried to save Antonysamy and other constables. He went out of the way to gather false evidence to establish that Rasakannu was found alive on the evening and night of March 22. The inspector said his investigation revealed that Rasakannu had borrowed ₹100 from one Panneerselvam at Mandarakuppam, saying he was going to see doctor K. Ramachandran at Neyveli as he was suffering from pain. The doctor also issued a certificate that Rasakannu had visited him, and medicine was prescribed for the pain. However, the investigation revealed that Rasakannu had died of homicidal violence and not as result of any road accident, Mr. Perumalswamy concluded in his report to the court.
In August 1994, disposing of the habeas corpus petition, the High Court ordered compensation to Parvathi and others tortured in custody. It said the valuable assistance by Mr. Chandru, played by Suriya in Jai Bhim, alone had given the finality to the proceedings. The charge sheet was filed against six persons. Antonysamy and Veerasamy were charged with torturing and killing Rasakannu, besides hiding the evidence. Constable A. Ramasamy was charged with wrongfully confining Kullan and others, sub-inspector S. Subramaniam with abetting the offence of screening evidence of murder by procuring a false medical certificate from Dr. Ramachandran. Bashyam was charged with screening the evidence of murder and creation of false records and Dr. Ramachandran with screening the evidence of murder by issuing a false medical certificate.
On May 1, 2004, a sessions court in Virudhachalam pronounced its verdict. Antonysamy and Veerasamy were awarded life imprisonment. Two others were given a lesser punishment and the other two were acquitted of all charges.
