OPS urges TN govt to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation to Vignesh's kin, seeks CBI probe

Chennai: AIADMK coordinator and former chief minister O Panneerselvam on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to pay Rs 50 lakh compensation for the family of a person who had reportedly died in police custody.

The AIADMK leader, in a statement also demanded that a CBI inquiry should be conducted into the issue besides providing a government job to a family member of the victim.

Listing out the sequences that the police have adopted to arrest "Suresh and Vignesh" on the charges of possessing contraband, the deputy Opposition leader of the House alleged, "It was also reported that the police have tortured both of them and the next morning Vignesh had vomited subsequently died while in the custody".

Condemning the custodial death of Vignesh, Panneerselvam claimed that police have given one lakh to the family of the victim for doing final rituals. "When the police have provided financial assistance to the victim, it shows that they might have committed the mistake," he said adding that this also indicates that the police were responsible for the death of the victim. Stating that the DMK government wants to hide the custodial death issue, the AIADMK coordinator said, "Though the action was taken against the police officers concerned in the issue, the families of the victim believe that justice will not be done since police department is under the State control".

"Therefore, the Chief Minister has to shift the case to the CBI for getting justice to the affected family besides providing financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the victim's family and also provide government job to a member of the family".