LoP Udhayanidhi Stalin seeks action against cops over Kumari youth's custodial death

CHENNAI: Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday (July 14) condemned the alleged custodial death of Sabarivarman in Nagercoil and demanded stringent action against the police personnel involved.

Referring to the police version, Udhayanidhi said the department had claimed that Sabarivarman was in good health at the time of his arrest and died after falling ill following the enquiry.

However, he said the victim's family had alleged that Sabarivarman, a person with a disability, was beaten by police personnel while in custody.

"Sabarivarman's family is protesting, alleging that he was assaulted by the police despite being a person with a disability. The Chief Minister must respond appropriately to this,," Udhayanidhi said.

The DMK leader appealed to the State government to initiate immediate action against cops responsible for the incident.

He alleged that the TVK government was applying "one law for ordinary citizens and another for ruling party functionaries", contrasting the custodial death with the release of a TVK functionary accused in a similar gutka smuggling case.

TVK functionary Arun, who was arrested in Erode in a gutka-related case, was released on station bail the very same day, but Sabarivarman is dead, he pointed out.

"The Chief Minister, who is in charge of the police department, must answer these allegations," he said.