Victims of torture by IPS officer in Tamil Nadu narrate their ordeal
At around 1:30 pm on March 10, E Esakimuthu, his three brothers and brother-in-law were in an altercation with four other men near the Ambasumadram police station in Tamil Nadu
At around 1:30 pm on March 10, E Esakimuthu, his three brothers and brother-in-law were in an altercation with four other men near the Ambasumadram police station in Tamil Nadu. It was a violent disagreement between the two groups over an inter-caste relationship. The police were called in, and Assistant Superintendent of Police Balveer Singh, an IIT Bombay graduate and 2020 batch IPS officer in his first posting, and around 25 other Tamil Nadu police officers rounded up all of them to the police station. What followed , they allege, were12 hours of gruesome custodial torture, with some of them having their teeth pulled out with pliers, and others having their testicles crushed.
On Monday, the officer was put on Vacany Reserve with immediate effect .
Speaking to HT over the phone, Esakimuthu said that the original issue between his family who belong to the Nadar community, and another group of men from the Schedule Caste communitywas over an inter-caste relationship. “It was a small issue which we thought we had resolved . But on March 10, the people from the other caste hit my younger brother Mariappan. We informed the police but the ASP made it seem like a gang war,” he said.
At the Ambasumadram police station, Esakimuthu said, they were given no chance to explain themselves. “He (Singh) didn’t even let us explain what had happened. He just kept shouting gang-war at us,” he said.
Ekasimuthu said that once inside the police station, Singh went insidea room, changed out of his uniform into a white vest, trousers and white gloves. Esakimuthu’s younger brother Chellappa was called in first. “We thought he was calling us inside to investigate,” he said.
But till 11:30 pm when they were let off, the men were brutally assaulted, Esakimuthu alleged. “My younger brother is bed ridden after his left testicle was crushed. I was attacked similarly too. We were made to wear only our underwear while he tortured us. I fell at his feet to let us go, but he refused to relent. Both us, and the four members from the other side were attacked until we bled,” he said.
On Tuesday , Esakimuthu and Chellappa began sharing videos of their injuries on social media, evoking outrage in Tamil Nadu. Advocate V Maharajan, who has taken up the case said that more people are now coming forward alleging they too were targeted by Singh. “As of now at least 30 people have said that this ASP Balveer Singh has pulled out their teeth,” said Maharajan.
The lawyer alleged that Singh acted similarly in other petty cases including marital disputes. “This ASPallegedly used a cutting plier to yank out the tooth of an auto driver Vetha Narayanan after his wife had filed a domestic dispute complaint. Another person has alleged that Singh removed seven of his teeth last month, while another person who was accused of breaking 3 CCTV’s has said the ASP broke two of his teeth.”
On Tuesday, Maharajan met with Esakimuthu and his family members to discuss how they would take their case forward. Meanwhile, an FIR has been filed against Esakimuthu, Chellappa and another brother Arul on charges of murder in the original case, a Tamil Nadu police officer said.
On Sunday, after the allegations of custodial torture came to light, the police department sent a report to Tirunelveli District Collector K P Karthikeyan who forwarded the file to the sub-divisional magistrate for an enquiry. The collector said that the investigation began on Monday and that Singh has been put on vacancy reserve which is a procedure where an IPS officer is temporarily removed without being given any other posting.
Police officers said that they have not uncovered any previous allegations of abuse against Singh who his on his first posting. “He is from Tonk in Rajasthan and belongs to the 2020 batch and has a B Tech Mechanical Engineering from IIT-Bombay. Before joining the service, he also worked with the Indian Oil Corporation in Faridabad.”
A second police officer said that while Singh was seen as a “quiet” individual, some of the policemen who worked with him in Tirunelveli did, in the past, raise some questions about his behavior. Singh did not respond to HT’s calls seeking comment.