The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to a policeman alleged to have been involved in a custodial death case.
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The court also took a serious note of the fact that the CB-CID is yet to complete the investigation even three years after the case was transferred to it.
The court was hearing the petition filed by S. Krishnavelu of Ramanathapuram. In 2012, a team of police personnel tried to nab Venkatesan, an accused in a case. Venkatesan injured himself while trying to escape. He was secured and taken into custody.
It was alleged that he was subjected to custodial torture in which he sustained injuries. Later, he succumbed to the injuries.
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The investigation into the case was transferred to the CB-CID. Krishnavelu said he was working at the police station at the time of the incident, but he was not involved in the incident. Claiming that he was falsely implicated in the case, he sought anticipatory bail apprehending arrest.
Justice G. Ilangovan took note of the fact that all the police personnel involved were named as accused. Earlier, the court had denied anticipatory bail to the other accused. Prima facie materials were available to proceed against the accused in the case and it was a case of custodial murder, the judge observed.
The court observed that it was unfortunate that even after the lapse of three years, the investigation in the case was still pending, and dismissed the petition.