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What RTI data reveals about custodial torture, lack of CCTV facilities in Tamil Nadu’s police stations | The Leaflet

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What RTI data reveals about custodial torture, lack of CCTV facilities in Tamil Nadu’s police stations

While the Tamil Nadu police has been consistently lauded as among the best in the country, recent RTI information revealed that in 2024, three hundred inmates entered prison with broken limbs, petty offenders were more vulnerable to custodial torture and police stations rarely had CCTV facilities.

Edgar Kaiser

Published on: 12 June 2025, 06:41 am

What RTI data reveals about custodial torture, lack of CCTV facilities in Tamil Nadu’s police stations

OFTEN RANKED AMONG THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY, by independent reports and the government alike, the Tamil Nadu (‘TN’) police is commonly lauded as a model force. Prisons in Tamil Nadu are also ranked best for their jail management. The TN Police are often praised for their large conviction rates of rowdies, reduced murder rates including their self-portrayal as the “Indian Scotland Yard”.

However, a deeper look, particularly through the lens of their custodial behaviours and approach towards free assembly tell us a different tale. The Sathankulam custodial death and Thoothukdui massacre are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of incidents and statistics which tell a parallel tale. The contrast between these celebrated statistics and grassroot developments present a need to rethink if these crafted narratives are just to mask the deeper systemic flaws.

Unveiling custodial behaviour

Since 2022, 24 custodial deaths have taken place as a direct result of police torture. Particularly, the custodial death of a 17-year-old in 2023 at the Chengalpattu juvenile home illustrates the systematic brutality entrenched within the TN police. Instead of reforming a minor arrested for a petty offence, the railway police and juvenile staff subjected him to unimaginable physical torture, resulting in 96 injury marks, including severe contusions and abrasions as recorded in his post-mortem report.

Since 2022, 24 custodial deaths have taken place as a direct result of police torture.

Unfortunately, the police had till now failed to provide any protection to him despite an order passed last week by the Principal District Judge, Madurai. This also happened against a Supreme Court ruling from 2018 which categorically pointed out the threats and attacks to victims and witnesses in India and formalised the Witness Protection Scheme, 2018. The same judgement also mandated setting up of Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centres (‘VWDC’). This was reiterated in a subsequent ruling in 2022 which also categorically held in 2024 that “the State of Tamil Nadu has not taken any action at all.”

This was followed by a notification by the Madras High Court. This notification has still not been implemented - over 90 percent of districts in TN do not have VWDCs. In a state where the police is very less inclined to protect the victims and witnesses, the absence of VWDCs make the criminal justice system very weak, opposed to the dominant narrative that unequivocally praises the TN police.

Is there any light?

Time and again, there have been several appeals to both the central and state governments calling for police reform. In fact, the current state government constituted the fifth police commission a few months after coming to power in 2021.

The commission this year recommended several reforms including pay hike, initiatives for fostering public-police relationship, and mental health training, among others. In a country with concrete police impunity, no torture law and very minimal police accountability, reccommendations such as this should be sincerely implemented. We strongly hope that this state government known for its social justice model, and its steadfast commitment to state autonomy and federalism begin translating these reforms into action rather than dwelling on ranks and reports.

Correction: An earlier version of the draft stated that "the India Justice Report 2025 has ranked the TN police at the top among eighteen large and mid-sized states on various factors, including diversity, conviction rates, and modernisation." However, the India Justice Report 2025 ranks the state thirteenth among the eighteen large states in the overall police pillar. The report also does not present an aggregate ranking on "diversity, conviction rates and modernisation" in the manner implied. On diversity, Tamil Nadu ranks third among eighteen large states, while modernisation is assessed through a single indicator named "Utilisation of Modernisation Fund (2021-22)" where the state has not provided any data. The report also does not rank conviction rates as a distinct metric. The error is deeply regretted.