HC orders furnishing forensic report to CBI in Sivaganga custodial death case

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Delhi, to furnish a report to the CBI, which is probing the custodial death case of B Ajith Kumar (29) in Sivaganga district.

The victim, a temple guard, allegedly died in police custody during interrogation, a day after Nikitha, who visited the Madapuram Bathirakali Amman temple in Sivaganga with her mother on June 27, lodged a theft complaint.

Nikitha, who had reached the temple in a car, suspected that Ajith Kumar had stolen nine sovereigns of gold and approached the Thirupuvanam police.

Five police personnel who interrogated Ajith Kumar were arrested in connection with the death. Several petitions were filed seeking a fair probe into the alleged custodial death case.

As the CBI intensified the probe, a police van driver was named as an additional accused, and the agency filed a charge sheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on August 20 as directed by the court. Mobile phone data and other forensic materials were sent to the laboratory for analysis.

When the case came up for hearing before a Division Bench comprising Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice C Kumarappan, the court directed the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to furnish the analysis report to the CBI within three weeks and also instructed the agency to report the progress of the investigation. The case was adjourned to November 27.