A 14-year-old boy belonging to the Kuravar community was allegedly picked up on theft charges and beaten up by police personnel in Virudhunagar district till he lost sight in his right eye.
Pathampiriyan (14) of Kannagi Colony, near Thiruthangal village in Virudhunagar district, was spotted with his father Ganesan at the Government Rajaji Hospital on Tuesday.
The boy, a ninth standard student, was yet to recover from the shock and said he was stupefied by the act of police personnel who fixed him on community basis.
“The police officers beat me up the entire day forcing me to accept the crime. A police officer slapped me repeatedly on both cheeks, till I lost vision in the right eye,” Pathampiriyan was inconsolable while narrating his agonising experience to Express.
Pathampiriyan was playing with five neighbourhood boys, all in the age group of 14, near his house on September 24, when a police team arrived at the spot. The police, who were conducting an inquiry regarding the theft of a pair of studs from one of his friends’ home, approached the boys and started quizzing them.“They inquired about our address and community and left all other boys free, except me when I replied that I belonged to the Kuravar community,” said Pathampiriyan.
Narrating the horrifying experience in police custody, he said, “The police officers first forced me to accept that I have stolen the studs. When I refused, they started beating me up. Two policemen slapped me on both cheeks until I lost vision in the right eye,” he said.
“The police also assaulted me using an irrigation hose, a cricket stump and coconut ‘mattai’ (branch). When I pleaded that I was innocent, they said that since I belong to the Kuravar community I would have done it. The police also threatened me that they would give me electric shock,” Pathampiriyan said.
Pathampiriyan’s father Ganesan, who is a sanitary worker with Thiruthangal Municipality, said that police picked up his son at 10 am. “When they dropped him after 6 pm, he had injuries all over the body. The police not only assaulted my son, but also used derogatory words against him,” he claimed.
Pathampiriyan’s parents got him admitted to the Government Hospital, Sivakasi. “We have filed a petition at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking action against Thiruthangal police Inspector (crime) Chellaiya and writer Subburam in the incident,” Ganesan said.
Following directions from the Court, Pathampiriyan was shifted to the Government Rajaji Hospital, Madurai, for treatment. Ganesan said that he was hopeful that the court will take stringent action against the police officers who were responsible for torturing his son.
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