Five policemen were arrested late on Monday night in connection with the custodial torture of a temple security guard, Ajith Kumar, 27, which led to his death last week in Sivaganga district, according to a note from the Police Department.

The arrests were made on a day the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed that the case had to be viewed seriously. “If it was an armed person, the police could counter-attack. But it was an unarmed person in police custody,” Justices S.M. Subramaniam and A.D. Maria Clete said, when a mention of a writ petition was made by an AIADMK advocate.

Meanwhile, sources in the Police and Health Departments told The Hindu that at least 30 to 40 injury marks were found on the victim’s body.

According to police sources, a decision to book the police personnel involved in the alleged assault on Ajith Kumar was taken after a high-level review meeting at the police headquarters in Chennai. On Sunday, six police personnel were suspended over the incident.

The decision was based on prima facie evidence and eyewitness accounts. The police were waiting for the interim post-mortem and inquest report, sources at the police headquarters said. Top police officers also examined the report of Sivaganga Range Deputy Inspector-General of Police and Superintendent of Police on the circumstances that led to the death of Ajith Kumar.

On June 27, a woman visiting the temple with her mother asked Ajith Kumar to help park her car. As he did not know how to drive, he sought help from others to park it. Later, the woman complained that 10 sovereigns of gold ornaments were missing from the bag she had kept in the car. Based on her complaint, the Tirupuvanam police picked up Ajith Kumar and a few others for questioning, and released them on the same day.

However, the following day, a special team detained Ajith Kumar for further questioning. During the second round of interrogation, he complained of uneasiness. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

“CCTV footage shows my brother walking on his own when he was taken in for questioning. But later, he was brought out by men in plain clothes and let off…He couldn’t even walk, and was bleeding. My brother is innocent,” Ajith Kumar’s brother Naveen told The Hindu.

A source in the Government Rajaji Hospital said the victim had lathi blow marks near the anus, and head injuries.

“After receiving the post-mortem and inquest report, we may alter the case to that of murder,” an officer said.

Ramanathapuram Range DIG Pa. Moorthy held a review meeting in Sivaganga, and a judicial officer commenced an inquiry in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, AIADMK advocate wing deputy secretary E. Marees Kumar filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Ajith Kumar’s death.

The petitioner said the police had neither registered a First Information Report (FIR) nor arrested those responsible for the victim’s death, even 48 hours after the incident.