Tamil Nadu: 101 days of wait for justice and a forced cremation of a Dalit man

CHENNAI: The morning air at the electric crematorium felt heavier than usual on Wednesday. It wasn’t the regular family gathering to bid a loved one final adieu. It was the last rites of a son who had been dead for 101 days. His wailing mother picked up a fistful of soil and hurled it toward the policemen — who were carrying out a court order to dispose of her 26-year-old son’s mortal remains — and said that those responsible for her son’s death would face retribution and ruin.

Based on a directive from the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, Aakash Delison, the Dalit youth who died due to alleged custodial torture in March, was cremated under tight security.

The cremation was marked by intense grief and brief resistance from family members, who had refused to accept the body for over three months, demanding the immediate arrest of all police personnel involved in the alleged custodial murder.

Aakash, a resident of Manamadurai in Sivaganga district, was arrested by the local police on March 6 in an assault case. While the police claimed he suffered a leg fracture during an escape attempt, Aakash had reportedly recorded a statement before a judicial magistrate, stating that police personnel had brutally assaulted him and broken his leg.

He succumbed to his injuries on March 8 at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, and a subsequent autopsy report revealed approximately 28 injuries on his body.

Following backlash, the case was transferred to the CB-CID on March 9, and six police personnel, including an inspector and a sub-inspector, were suspended.

Taking suo motu cognisance, the high court on March 13 directed the CB-CID to register a case of murder and under relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the accused officers.

Aakash’s father Rajesh Kannan had moved the high court seeking Rs 50 lakh compensation and the immediate arrest of all 16 police personnel allegedly linked to the incident, while the family staged a continuous sit-in protest near the old bus stand in Manamadurai.

On June 15, the high court ordered that if the family did not accept the body by 5 pm that evening, the local administration must proceed with a dignified disposal.