CHENNAI: The custodial death of 27-year-old private security guard B Ajith Kumar in Tiruppuvanam, allegedly due to police torture, will now be probed by the Special Crime Branch of the CBI, New Delhi.

Sources confirmed that the CBI headquarters has entrusted the case to its Special Crime Unit, which is also handling the infamous 2020 Sathankulam custodial deaths of P Jayaraj and J Bennix.

The move follows the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court's direction to the CBI to take over the investigation and submit its final report by August 20.

The court also instructed the Tamil Nadu Police to fully cooperate with the central agency throughout the investigation.