Amid election campaigns, three custodial deaths were recorded in Madurai, Villupuram, and Chennai prisons, between April 5 and 16, said Tiphagne. Activists led by Kathir, under the banner Dalit Human Rights' Defenders' Network, met as many as 45 MPs to enact a draft bill on 'Freedom of Marriage and Association, and Prohibition of Crimes in the name of Honour, 2022' in the parliament. But, there was no response, he said.

A history-sheeter, G. Karthik, 32, of Yagappa Nagar here, who had been remanded in Madurai Central Prison on April 2 in connection with an extortion case died at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) on Friday morning due to ill health. However, his family members complained about police excess. Executive Director of People’s Watch Henri Tiphange said as per the High Court direction with regard to custodial death, only after the post-mortem report was handed over to the family members, they would accept the body.

CHENNAI: Even as the Director General of Police (DGP) Dr C Sylendra Babu issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) on how to handle a suspect in police custody, reports of alleged police brutality and custodial deaths continued to rock the state this year.

On May 10, in the state Assembly, Chief Minister MK Stalin vowed to put an end to custodial deaths saying, “Whichever party is in power, custodial deaths cannot be justified.” The Madras High Court also had observed the merciless assault and deaths in police custody showed the deplorable state of mind of the policemen.

MADURAI: People's Watch Executive Director Henri Tiphagne has urged Chengalpattu District Collector AR Rahul Nadh to inspect the juvenile home and inquire into the death of a 17-year-old boy. Railway police spotted the boy at Tambaram junction on December 29 and alerted his mother Priya, following which the boy was sent to a juvenile home in Chengalpattu.