Sat Apr 05 16:02:07 UTC 2025: **Nine Convicted of Custodial Death in 1999 Case**
**Thoothukudi, April 5, 2025** – A Thoothukudi court today sentenced nine individuals, including a current Deputy Superintendent of Police, to life imprisonment for the custodial death of C. Vincent in 1999. Vincent, a salt pan worker, died in police custody at the Thalamuthu Nagar police station after being detained for questioning.
His wife, Krishnammal, filed a complaint alleging that Vincent was beaten to death. The trial, which lasted several years, resulted in the conviction of nine police personnel, among them Ramakrishnan (then a Sub-Inspector and now DSP), Somasundaram, Jeyasekaran, Joseph Raj, Pichaiya, Chellathurai, Veerabahu, Subbaih, and Balasubramanian. Each received a life sentence and a ₹10,000 fine. Two other accused, Rathinasamy and Sivasubramanian, were acquitted due to insufficient evidence. At the time of sentencing, some of the convicted were still serving in the police force, including Somasundaram and Pichaiya. The prosecution’s case was argued by Government advocate S.P. Anand Gabriel Raj. The judgment brings a long-awaited conclusion to the case and highlights the ongoing struggle for justice in custodial death cases in India.
First Piper 