Executive Director of People's Watch Henri Tiphagne has written to the Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission (TNSHRC) asking it to take suo motu cognisance of the custodial death of 25-year-old Vignesh in Chennai. Vignesh was taken into custody by the G5 Secretariat Colony police station, along with Suresh, a construction worker, on April 18. Police said that the next day, Vignesh had a seizure and died while being taken to the hospital. The family alleged foul play in the death.
In his letter to SHRC and Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority (TNSLSA), on Friday, April 22, Henri stated that the post-mortem “took place in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate who did not adhere to the directions of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court before the commencement of the autopsy and after the autopsy was over.” He also pointed out that the body was cremated the same day “contrary to the directions of a Madras High Court Bench judgment” which had laid guidelines related to custodial death and “without the family being allowed to take the body to their house”.
Further, stating that it was “a horrendous death in custody, allegedly arising out of injuries caused due to torture before the formal arrest, non-adherence to the mandates of the law to rush him for an urgent medical treatment which could have saved his life,” Henri asked the SHRC to intervene.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission on Saturday, April 23, registered a case regarding the custodial death of Vignesh following a complaint. On Friday, April 22, the probe into the case was transferred to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID). Three police officials from the G-5 Secretariat police station — Sub-Inspector Pugalum Perumal, head constable Pavun Raj and Home Guard personnel Deepak were also suspended in connection with the incident.