The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to Kerala government over the death of a man from Tamil Nadu in police custody after he was arrested in connection with a theft case in Thalassery area.
The Commission has taken cognisance of media reports that Kalimuthu, in his 40s, who hailed from Salem district of Tamil Nadu, was allegedly tortured by police after being detained "without any reason".
The NHRC in a statement today said that it has issued the notice to the Director General of Police of the state and called for a detailed report, including the inquest, postmortem examination, video CD of the postmortem and other relevant reports as per standing directions given by the Commission.
"The Commission has observed that this is a case of violation of right to life of a person who died in police custody, where he was reportedly, detained without any reason. The callous attitude of the police personnel amounts to dereliction of duty on their part," the statement said.
There are reports that he was beaten up by police in custody following which he died.
Kalimuthu was found dead in custody on October 9, two days after he he was arrested in the theft case.
According to the report, carried on October 10, Kalimuthu along with another person, was "caught near a temple in Thalassery area by the public."
"The police came and took both of them in their custody. The police later found that the two were not involved in any theft but it did not release them immediately. As per police version, both of them were manhandled by the crowd after they were caught on suspicion," the statement said.
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