Overview
- Investigators treated the death of remand prisoner Sabarivarman as a homicide after a post-mortem reportedly recorded 19 external injuries on his body following the incident on July 13.
- The prison department suspended three warders, including the chief warder Thirumalainambi, after police arrested them in connection with the assault.
- Police have arrested inmates for the attack but reports differ on the number detained, with one account naming eight arrested inmates and another reporting five, and several names have been circulated by investigators.
- The victim’s family has refused to accept the body and staged protests demanding a second autopsy, an independent probe, compensation and a government job for a relative.
- Authorities say CCTV footage and ongoing interrogations are guiding the probe and officials face mounting pressure from politicians and the public to expand the inquiry or hand it to an independent agency.