Cardamom theft row to custodial death: How a truck fire ended in tragedy for a Theni driver

The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government is facing political heat over law and order after a 42-year-old truck driver allegedly died in police custody in Madurai, marking the sixth reported custodial death in the state since the administration took office six months ago.

R Balakrishnan was found hanging in the restroom of the Checkanurani police station after overnight questioning. Police say he died by suicide, but his family rejects that account and alleges foul play. Several questions about what happened before and after the incident remain unanswered, and police have yet to clarify them.

Three police personnel — inspector Muthu and head constables Kalaiselvi and Palanivel Rajan — have been suspended, and the Director General of Police (DGP) has ordered a CB-CID probe into the incident.

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Cargo fire sparks dispute

Balakrishnan, a native of Tevaram in Theni district, worked as a driver for a private delivery firm and is survived by his wife and two children.

On November 3, he was transporting parcels and sacks of cardamom from Tevaram to Madurai when his container truck caught fire near a cremation ground at Valanathur on the Usilampatti–Theni road around 2.30 am. Firefighters helped douse the blaze.

Balakrishnan subsequently lodged a complaint at the Valanathur police station the same day, though a formal case was registered only on Friday (November 13), 10 days after the fire. It is unclear what led to the fire or whether there was an accident.

"The FIR was only registered on Friday, and only after investigation will it be known how the fire happened. Before we could ask what exactky happened, he died," SP N Devanthan told The Federal.

Interestingly, the delivery company filed a complaint earlier with the Madurai Superintendent of Police two days later on November 5, which was forwarded to the Usilampatti Deputy Superintendent of Police on November 11. In his complaint, the company’s security manager, P Surya, stated that 162 sacks of cardamom worth nearly Rs 2.5 crore, along with 25 other parcels, had been loaded onto the vehicle.

“However, upon inspecting the cargo after the fire, it was discovered that 67 sacks of cardamom were missing,” Surya said, noting there were no signs the missing sacks had been completely destroyed in the blaze. He also alleged that two GPS devices — one installed by the company and another by the vehicle owner — had been disconnected a day before the fire.

“In particular, our company has doubts regarding the activities of the driver Balakrishnan, who was driving the vehicle, and the circumstances surrounding the incident,” the complaint added.

Overnight questioning raises doubts

Police denied that the inquiry was triggered by the firm’s complaint, maintaining they were acting on Balakrishnan’s own complaint. On Friday, company representatives, vehicle owner Nagaraj, and Balakrishnan appeared before officers at the Valanathur station in the afternoon before being summoned to the Checkanurani station in the evening.

“All of us left the station by 1.37 am on Saturday, but Balakrishnan was still inside. He had entered the station around 10.30 pm on Friday and was not seen after that. I remember the exact time because I called his wife, Sudha, to tell her that I was leaving and that he was still inside,” Nagaraj told The Federal.

Family friend and advocate Pandia Rajan said Balakrishnan had called him around 9.30 pm using a police officer’s mobile phone after his own handset was confiscated. “He was very anxious. I asked him what had happened, especially since he was the one who had lodged the complaint. He said the police were cornering him over allegations that around 60 sacks of cardamom worth crores were missing. He also said the company could not claim insurance following the fire and was deliberately framing him for the theft,” Rajan said.

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Family alleges custodial torture

Balakrishnan’s wife, Sudha, alleged that officers had pressured her husband to confess to stealing the missing cardamom. “Despite him showing video evidence of firefighters arriving to douse the blaze, he was being forced to take the blame,” she said, adding that she had accompanied him to questioning on the first two days. “On the third day, I did not go, and they (police) killed him. By not being with him during those hours, I have lost my life,” she told reporters.

His son, Vikash, claimed he saw bruises on his father’s body resembling lathi blows, along with marks on his neck. “It did not look like death by hanging but appeared to be strangulation. Police say he hung himself using a full-sleeved shirt, but he wears only half-sleeved shirts,” he said.

Activist demands murder charges

Advocate and human rights activist Henri Tiphagne said Balakrishnan’s calls to his wife showed he was being framed inside the station.

“Balakrishnan was being called to the police station for inquiry, but there was no direct phone call from the police station, no papers, no summons and nothing at all. The fact that he was taken to the police station shows that he was taken into custody. While in custody, the police inspector is responsible for his life and liberty. Therefore, this is a fit case for registering a murder case under Section 302 and arresting the police inspector and everyone else, rather than waiting for an inquiry,” Tiphagne said.

Noting that six deaths in police custody and one in judicial custody have occurred since the TVK government assumed office, Tiphagne questioned the official suicide narrative. “This government says it is different when it comes to custodial deaths, but that difference can only be seen if it registers a case under Section 302 and arrests the police personnel,” he said.

Opposition targets TVK government

Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin questioned why Balakrishnan had been interrogated through the night. “If he allegedly committed suicide in the police station restroom, what kind of extreme pressure could have driven him to such an act?” he asked.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the law-and-order situation under the TVK government “has become so dire — and so utterly ridiculous — that one could almost compile a ‘Top 10’ list of law-and-order failures under this administration.”

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss condemned the recurring custodial deaths and called for a thorough investigation. “The police department’s decision to order a CB-CID investigation into the incident is welcome. The truth must emerge through this investigation,” he said.

According to People's Watch, the six alleged custodial deaths are: Venkatesan (Chennai), Kathiresan (Tenkasi), Arunachalam (Thoothukudi), Paramasivam (Madurai), Tamilarasan (Chennai), and Balakrishnan (Madurai).