Chennai: Political parties across Tamil Nadu have condemned the custodial death of 34-year-old Sabari Varman, a differently-abled man, demanding chief minister C Joseph Vijay to break his silence on the issue and order a detailed probe.DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi, who visited the family on Wednesday, slammed the “CM’s silence” and said none of the ministers or govt representatives reached out to the victim’s family yet. She alleged the govt had registered a case only after intense pressure from family members and political leaders.Former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar accused police of beating Varman to death “over an offense of possessing a small quantity of tobacco” while TVK members caught selling banned substances in Erode and Salem, were “let off without action”. Referring to the CM’s silence, Jayakumar said the style of governance indicates that it has been run by bureaucrats.PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss called the death shocking and demanded that the case be immediately transferred to the CBI. Noting that four individuals have died mysteriously under custody in the past two months alone, he called for a high-level inquiry commission to investigate the spike in custodial deaths, while urging state govt to provide relief of ₹50 lakh and a govt job for the wife of the deceased.AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran too demand a detailed probe, while DMDK general secretary Premalatha Vijayakant urged the CM to provide relief of ₹25 lakh to the family. CPM state general secretary P Shanmugam demanded concrete institutional measures to prevent such incidents.
