The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to Kerala Government over the death of a man from Tamil Nadu in police custody after he was arrested in connection with a theft case in Thalassery.

The Commission has issued a notice to the Director General of Police, Kerala, calling for a detailed report including the inquest, post mortem examination, video CD of the post mortem and other relevant reports as per its standing directions.

The Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports that 40-year-old Kalimuthu, arrested in connection with a theft case, was found dead while in custody at Thalassery police station in Kerala on October 9, 2016. Kalimuthu was from Salem district of Tamil Nadu. He was, reportedly, tortured by police.

“This is a case of violation of right to life of a person who died in police custody, where he was reportedly, detained without any reason. The callous attitude of the police personnel amounts to dereliction of duty on their part. The police detained them even after knowing that both of them were not guilty,” the notice said.

According to the media report on October 10, 2106, Kalimuthu, along with another person, was caught near a temple in Thalassery area by public. The police came and took them to custody. The police later found that the two were not involved in any theft but did not release them immediately. As per police version, both of them were manhandled by the crowd after they were caught on suspicion.