Chennai, 17th January 2022: A Chennai woman has alleged that her handicapped husband was thrashed by the police, following which three policemen have been suspended and Chief Minister MK Stalin has ordered a Crime Branch, Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) probe into the matter.
A 45-year-old Dalit man named A Prabhakaran was assaulted by the policemen on January 12. The man’s wife alleges that her handicapped husband was killed in a police beating. This incident is being told of two districts of Tamil Nadu, Salem, and Namakkal district. Prabhakaran’s wife P Hansala narrated the entire incident to the media persons in Salem.
According to the woman, “Prabhakaran was sewing a blouse on his tailoring machine at around 3 pm on January 8. Prabhakaran is handicapped. Meanwhile, four police officers, including a woman, entered his house in plain clothes. Women police beat me while men beat my husband. But at that time we didn’t even know that he was a police officer. My husband kept shouting for help, meanwhile, neighbors started gathering. When his 12-year-old son started filming the incident on his camera, the policemen snatched his phone.”
Further, she said “then not a police jeep but a taxi came to the spot. Four police officers in plain clothes made Prabhakaran sit in the taxi. I was made to sit in the back seat along with the female officer. Two policemen were riding on a two-wheeler. This is when we came to know that the police of Sendamangalam in Namakkal district were taking us. He was taken to the Sendamangalam Police Quarter.”
The woman told that we were neither taken to jail nor in court. The police told us that they would buy food for us and if we asked, we would take care of them.
Hansla says “I am being accused of stealing gold and was beaten up for confessing to the same crime. My husband cannot walk without my help. For three days, the police have seen me feeding him, I helped him when he had to use the toilet. In such a situation, it is a matter of thinking that how can we commit such a crime.”
Local disability-rights activists said, “Prabhakaran’s health began to deteriorate on January 11 and was shifted to the Namakkal Government Hospital while Hansala was in jail. On January 12, he was shifted to the Government Hospital in Salem where he died the same night.”
Acting on the matter on January 15, DIG (Salem range) Praveen Kumar Abinapu arrested three police officers, Sendamangalam sub-inspector A Chandran, Puduchhatram police station sub-inspector L Poonkodi and a policeman named Kulanthivel from Tiruchengod rural police station. suspended. Prabhakaran’s post-mortem was done on the same day.
On Monday, leaders of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M) also targeted the state government over the alleged custodial death. After which the Stalin government swung into action and ordered an immediate inquiry into the matter.
CM Stalin said, “I have ordered a CB-CID inquiry into this matter.”
He said that he was saddened to learn about this death. He also ordered a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family.