Madurai (Tamil Nadu)

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed the bail petitions filed by four police personnel accused in the custodial death of 29-year-old temple security guard B. Ajith Kumar in Sivaganga district.

The case concerns the death of Ajith Kumar, who served as a temporary security guard at the Badrakali Amman Temple in Madapuram, Sivaganga district. The court termed the incident a "clear case of custodial death."

Kumar, a security guard at the Madapuram Kaliamman temple in Tiruppuvanam in Sivaganga, was detained for questioning in connection with a theft. He later allegedly died while in police custody.

Justice S. Srimathy rejected the bail applications filed by Ananth, Raja, Prabhu and Sankaramanikandan. During the hearing, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the court that the alleged jewellery theft case, based on which the victim was detained, had been closed.

The CBI has filed both a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet against 10 police personnel in connection with the case.

According to the prosecution, on June 27, 2025, Nikitha from Thirumangalam in Madurai district, along with her mother, visited the temple. As her mother had difficulty walking, Nikitha reportedly handed over the car key to Ajith Kumar and requested him to park the vehicle. Upon their return, they allegedly found their bag inside the car open and the gold ornaments missing

Following the complaint, Ajith Kumar was taken in for interrogation. He died the following day, June 28, 2025, during the course of questioning.

In the wake of the incident, the State Government transferred the investigation in both related cases to the CBI.

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Initially, five police personnel, Prabhu, Kannan, Sankaramanikandan, Raja and Ananth, were arrested and remanded in judicial custody

Subsequently, police driver Ramachandran was named as an accused and also remanded.