4 cops ordered to pay Rs 50K as compensation to tortured auto driver

Judicial member D Jayachandran ordered the government to pay Rs 50,000 to the complainant and recover the same from the four officers equally. They have been identified as Ganesalinga Pandian, then sub-inspector, police constables Suresh and Gajendran and Murali Selvam, then head constable. They were attached to Kenikarai police station.

The complainant, Syed Abutagir, is an autorickshaw driver and his wife is a differently-abled. On August 1, 2017, when he was near Chinnakadai mosque, the officers with a few other people intercepted him. They made him get off the auto and Ganesalinga caught him by his shirt. When Syed questioned them, he was taken to the Kenikarai police station. The officers then tied his hands and abused him physically and verbally. The next day, the police took him to Sakkarakottai check post and threatened him to admit that he had hidden weapons somewhere. The officials also threatened to register false cases against the complainant’s son and wife. Following this, he was booked under false charges and subsequently released on bail.

The respondents denied all the allegations by the complainant and added that the complainant was arrested only on August 3 in a criminal case. But, considering the evidence, the commission held that the complainant was illegally detained in the police station for four days. It was also proved that they had tortured the complainant and violated his rights. The commission then ordered the complainant be compensated.