BLOW BY BLOW ACCOUNTING

One more custodial death, this time of a theft suspect, puts the spotlight back on a grim reality: Tamil Nadu’s political licence for police violence

- Kavitha Muralidharan

TAMIL NADU'S MODEL of good governance has some unwashed stains around its edges—and they go from deep, clotted red to fresh crimson every now and then, with a new case of police violence. That dark calendar returned to the spotlight in late June, with the custodial death of Ajith Kumar, a 27-year-old temple security guard, in Sivaganga district. In the ensuing storm, what came in for scrutiny is a deeply endemic crisis: a political culture that's tolerant of the law behaving lawlessly, regardless of who runs the government.

This is not the first time the ruling DMK is being called out for fostering a climate of police impunity—the 2023 custodial torture case of Ambasamudram was still fresh in the mind. This time, though, the DMK government moved with relative swiftness: five policemen were arrested, six suspended; a CBI probe was ordered; and an apology phone call to Ajith’s mother by chief minister M.K. Stalin came alongside a promise of compensation and a government job to his family.

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