Custodial death of Vignesh a murder: NCSC vice-chairman

CHENNAI: The vice-chairman for National Commission of Scheduled Castes, Arun Halder, who visited the city to inquire about the custodial death of Vignesh on Wednesday called the incident a murder and added that police tried to suppress the fact that the deceased belonged to a scheduled community.

Briefing the media, Halder said that he met the family members of Vignesh and police officials apart from visiting the Secretariat Colony police station. "He (Vignesh) has been brutally beaten by police and killed. When asked why he was secured, police said he was a habitual offender and had a machete with him. I did not know that the Tamil Nadu police were astrologers who knew that he was going to commit an offense just because he carried a machete, " he said.

Halder said that the commission would submit its report to make the kin of the victim eligible for the compensation.

He said that he also visited the IIT-Madras to inquire about the rape of a Dalit PhD scholar. "The victim was with me and informed me about the details of the professors who supported the accused and showed him the places where she was raped. I asked the police why the police did not file a case when a girl shouts that she was raped several times? Would they have done the same if it happened in their family?” he questioned.