Ajith Kumar Custodial Death: Murder Charges Included, Five Tamil Nadu Policemen Arrested

Five policemen have been arrested in connection with a custodial death in Tamil Nadu's Sivaganga district, police said. An official release late on Monday said that six personnel had been placed under suspension on June 28.

A due probe was launched into the matter and following the post-mortem report received last night, the next course of action was initiated "without any delay", it said. Subsequently, murder charges were invoked and "five policemen involved in the matter have been arrested," it said.

A judicial enquiry has been ordered into the matter.

The state police has worked in a "just, transparent and unbiased" manner as regards this "unfortunate incident," it said.

In the past five years, there has been a significant dip in custodial deaths in the state and whenever such incidents happen, appropriate action has been taken by the police department, the release added.

The victim, security guard Ajithkumar of Tiruppuvanam in Sivaganga, was picked up by the local police in connection with a case earlier. The custodial death had sparked an outrage, with political parties slamming the government over the issue.