Thiruppuvanam custodial death: Madurai CJM closes jewel theft case

Madurai: The Madurai chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court on Monday accepted the final report filed by the CBI and closed the jewel theft case registered against Madapuram temple security guard B Ajith Kumar, who was beaten to death by the Sivaganga district police while in custody, as untraced.The CBI earlier filed the final report before the CJM court to close the jewel theft case as untraced. Pursuant to the notice issued, Nikitha, who was the complainant in the jewel theft case, appeared before the CJM court on Monday.CJM K Selvapandi perused the records and the final report filed by the CBI. After investigation, the CBI filed the final report stating that the case remained untraced since, despite the investigation, neither any clue was available nor the investigation pointed towards any person who might have committed the theft.The CJM said that, pursuant to the notice, Nikitha stated that she had no objection to closing the case as untraced. She made an endorsement and also filed a memo to that effect. Hence, the CJM accepted the final report filed by the CBI and closed the case as untraced.It may be recalled that Ajith Kumar, who was working at the Batharakaliamman temple at Madapuram, died during custodial interrogation on June 28, 2025. He was picked up by the police for interrogation in a case pertaining to the alleged gold jewels theft from a car owned by Nikitha of Madurai district, in which she and her mother visited the temple the previous day.The govt transferred the custodial death case and the connected jewel theft case to the CBI, which arrested six policemen—Prabhu, Kannan, Sankaramanikandan, Raja, Ananth and Ramachandran, who was the driver of the van in which Ajith Kumar was transported.Initially, the CBI filed the final report before the 5th additional district and sessions court in Madurai against six police personnel. Subsequently, the CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet naming four more police personnel—then Manamadurai DSP Shanmugasundaram, then Thiruppuvanam inspector of police Rameshkumar, then sub-inspector Sivakumar and then head constable Ilayaraja—as accused in the case, in addition to the six police personnel who were already arrested.