Nagercoil: Disabled undertrial dies in custody; warden among 3 arrested

CHENNAI: Three police officials including a jail warden, have been arrested in connection with the alleged custodial death of Sabarivarman, a disabled undertrial prisoner from Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari district, who died in judicial custody after being arrested for allegedly selling gutka. An autopsy reportedly found 19 injuries on his body, prompting allegations from his family that he was beaten to death, according to Maalaimalar.

Sabarivarman, 35, was arrested after gutka was allegedly seized from his shop and was remanded in judicial custody. Following his death in prison, his family claimed that he had sustained injuries all over his body and alleged that police assaulted him despite his disability.

An autopsy conducted in the presence of a district judge reportedly revealed 19 injuries on Sabarivarman's body. Following the findings, District Jail Chief Warden Jagan and prison staff Sivakumar and Thiruvidainambi were arrested.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Political leaders condemn Sabarivarman's death

The alleged custodial death has drawn condemnation from leaders across political parties. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Udhayanidhi Stalin, demanded action against those responsible and called for justice for Sabarivarman.

In a post on X, Udhayanidhi said the Chief Minister, who oversees the police department, must provide a befitting response to the incident. 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.

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.