Family alleges custodial torture behind youth’s death

Denying the allegation, Tirupur city Police Commissioner P Nagarajan said that the issue was recommended for judicial probe under Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The victim N Dinesh Kumar (20) was working in a knitwear firm for nearly a year. According to the police, Dinesh and his friend Venkatesh (21) were heading towards Tirupur on the Tiruchy Road on August 23 when the Vellakovil police attached to the Tirupur district police stopped them for a vehicle check.

They admitted stealing the bike from Kadharpet in Tirupur. Vellakovil police handed them over to the Tirupur north police. The police quizzed the duo for suspected involvement in other cases. “During inquiry, Dinesh suffered an epileptic attack and was admitted to a private hospital, from where he was referred to a private hospital in Coimbatore,” the Commissioner said.

According to Nagarajan only after hospitalisation they came to know that Dinesh suffered from multiple organ failure.

Police informed his family at Kumbakonam that he was ill. The family claimed that the boy was unconscious for more than two days.

Dinesh’s family alleged that late on Saturday evening the police informed them that it would cost over Rs. 10 lakh to treat him, following which he was referred to the CMCH on Saturday night. Shortly after midnight, the family was told that Dinesh passed away.

“We suspect that he was brutally beaten, due to which he became unconscious and died,” the victim’s uncle said. On Sunday evening, Judicial Magistrate T Nithyakala from Tirupur conducted an inquiry with the victim’s family.