Sivaganga custodial death: after closure of theft case, Ajith Kumar’s mother demands arrest of complainant

Malathi, the mother of the Sivaganga custodial death victim B. Ajith Kumar, on Thursday demanded the arrest of Nikitha, on whose oral complaint of jewellery theft, the police had illegally detained him in June 2025. The demand was made against the backdrop of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday informing the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that it had “closed” the alleged theft case.

‘CBI probe satisfactory’

Addressing journalists in Tirupuvanam, Ms. Malathi, along with her younger son Naveen Kumar and advocates Ganesh Kumar and Karthik Raja, expressed satisfaction over the probe conducted by the CBI into her son’s custodial death. She said the authorities should arrest Nikitha, as the probe had suggested that the latter’s allegation that Ajith Kumar had stolen her jewellery was false. Ajith Kumar was employed as a security guard at the Madapuram temple, which the complainant and her mother Sivakami had visited last June. On her oral complaint, the Tirupuvanam police had picked up Ajith Kumar the following day for ‘interrogation’, and he later died owing to third degree torture.

Ms. Malathi said, “The police had beaten my son to death for no fault of his. I repeatedly asked the Inspector, and he promised my son would be let off by 6 p.m., but I was only informed that he was no more.” From day one, the family members had insisted that Ajith Kumar was innocent. “It should be revealed which officers backed the complainant and pressured the Sivaganga District Police to probe her allegation. The CBI should summon them for a probe,” she added.

Ms. Malathi said the accused policemen, now remanded in judicial custody, should not be enlarged on bail, as she feared they would tamper with evidence and threaten witnesses. The punishment for those involved in this should be severe enough that such a crime is never repeated, and the law of the land should protect the victim’s kin, the family members said and thanked the judiciary for its close monitoring of the progress of the case.