Ajith Kumar Murder Case: DSP, Three Police Officers Jailed
A Madurai court has ordered the judicial custody of a serving deputy superintendent of police and three other police personnel in the murder case of Ajith Kumar, a watchman at the Badrakali Amman temple in Madappuram, Sivaganga district. The four were sent to Madurai Central Prison until September 16 after the Central Bureau of Investigation alleged that they helped unlawfully detain Kumar and attempted to cover up his death.
The order was passed on Thursday by K. Thamodaran, judge of the Madurai Fifth Additional Sessions Court. The four accused are Manamadurai DSP Shanmugasundaram, Tiruppuvanam Inspector Rameshkumar, Special Sub-Inspector Sivakumar and head constable Ilaiyaraja. The court proceedings involved 10 accused, including police personnel already in custody.
According to the report, Kumar died on June 27, 2025, after a special police team allegedly assaulted him in connection with a complaint about jewellery reported missing from the car of a professor, Nikitha, who had visited the temple. The CBI is investigating the case. Police personnel Raja, Anand, Sankaramanikandan, Prabhu and Kannan, along with police van driver Ramachandran, had earlier been arrested and are lodged in Madurai Central Prison.
The CBI has named Shanmugasundaram, Rameshkumar, Sivakumar and Ilaiyaraja as additional accused in its chargesheet. The agency has alleged that the DSP formed the special team unlawfully and that the other three officers assisted in taking Kumar into custody illegally. It has also alleged that Kannan filed a false complaint claiming Kumar died after being injured while trying to escape from police custody.
The prosecution further alleged that Rameshkumar registered a false case to conceal the alleged killing, while Sivakumar and Ilaiyaraja altered general diary entries at Tiruppuvanam police station. The CBI also alleged that a Community Service Register entry connected to Nikitha’s complaint was fabricated with an earlier date. The court heard that the accused had allegedly attempted to create false records and destroy evidence after Kumar’s death.
The CBI argued that keeping the four officers in custody was necessary for an independent investigation. Prosecutors said the accused could influence witnesses or destroy evidence if released. The agency also alleged that attempts had been made to reach a compromise with Kumar’s parents with the assistance of people linked to a local political party.
The court was told that evidence on the mobile phones of all 10 accused had allegedly been deleted. The CBI said Shanmugasundaram had been suspended, while Rameshkumar was serving as an inspector in Manamadurai and Sivakumar and Ilaiyaraja were working at the Sivaganga Town police station.
No bail petition had been filed so far on behalf of the four newly remanded accused, according to the report. The court ordered Shanmugasundaram, Rameshkumar, Sivakumar and Ilaiyaraja to remain in judicial custody until September 16, and they were subsequently taken to Madurai Central Prison.
