REPORTER

DECEMBER 4, 2021:

12:00 PM:

Around 12:00 PM on Saturday, Sai Akhil, wearing orange shirt and black pants sought the permission of his parents to visit Thondamuthur to purchase a cake. He have a thick facial expressions, sharp black eyes and sports box-hairstyle. His mother Annalakshmi agreed because the next day was his birthday.

Hailing from Andhra Pradesh and settled in Coimbatore, Sai Akhil's father Ramakrishnan was a known small-time retail businessman in the areas of Coimbatore district. However, Sai Akhil did not return till evening.

Sai Akhil's identical twin brother Sharan meanwhile gets inside the house, finishing his NCC activities in the college to celebrate his birthday. Annalakshmi stops him and asked, "My son. Did he met you?"

Looking at her, Sharan said: "No Mom. I myself just now stepped inside the house. Where did he went?"

Annalakshmi struggled and panicked. However, Sharan said: "Mom. Don't worry. He is not a kid. Maybe he would be in some works. I will go and instigate my friends."

However, Annalakshmi became restless. So, Sharan tried to reach him on his cell phone, but it went unanswered.

Annalakshmi asked him, "What happened my son? Did he answered the call?"

Sharan panicks and had some sort of fears in his eyes. Annalakshmi was even more tensed, when she saw Sharan's facial expressions and asked, "What happened da?"

Sharan replied in a low voice, "He didn't answer, ma."

FEW HOURS LATER:

7:15 PM:

A few hours later, Sharan's father returned to the house and starts to worry about his son. Around 7.15 pm on Saturday, Sharan received a call from an unknown number.

"Hello. Who's speaking?" asked Annalakshmi to which the caller replied: "Madam. I am an officer from Singanallur Police station. You and your mother have to visit the police station immediately to pick up your son."

Sharan, who heard the voice from an officer panicked and asked the officer, "Why sir? Why was my brother arrested?"

"Sir. Come to the police station immediately. We will speak about the issues in detail" said the officer to which, the family agrees to and visits the station. Sharan along with a neighbor, Ramakrishnan and Annalakshmi hired an autorickshaw and reached the police station.

After reaching, Sharan stepped inside the station fearfully. His face sweated all over and his mother panicked. Reaching inside, he met a constable, who was filing a report about a recent accident case, sipping a bit of coffee.

While, another constable was beating up a local thief in lock-up and the Sub-Inspector was seen communicating with some politician, 500 meters away.

Ramakrishnan asked the constable, "Sir. What happened to my son?"

Sipping another dip of coffee, the constable said: "Sir. First, you all stand outside. We will let your brother within 30 minutes."

ONE HOUR LATER:

Sharan, Annalakshmi and Ramakrishnan waited for more than an hour. They were so tired and Sharan felt the hunger in his stomach. An hour later, the police sub-inspector brought some papers to get Annalakshmi's signatures.

"Sir. Why should my mother sign these papers?" Sharan asked the Sub-Inspector.

After purchasing a cake from Singanallur, Sai Akhil came along with his close friends: Adhithya Sakthivel, Janaarth and Dayalan. They were riding KTM Duke 360, Yamaha R15 V3 and Hero Honda respectively. While, Sai Akhil was riding Kawasakhi Ninja 300. When reaching the Lord Shiva Temple at Thirugnanasambandar Street, the police sub-inspector tried to stop him, to which they did not.

While the other three managed to escape, Sai Akhil was caught by the Sub-Inspector after a long chase. As the Sub-inspector said this, Sharan was shakened and didn't have any words to tell him. Minutes later, Sao Akhil was brought out from the custody.

He looked shaken and unstable. Seeing his state, Sharan cried silently and looked at him pity. While, their mother and father became depressed and heartbroken upon seeing Akhil. Before the family can leave, the Sub-Inspector takes a photo of Sai Akhil-Sharan standing together. Even at that time, he looked unstable and shaken.

"Don't worry da. We are there here. Everything will become normal" said Sharan. All the way home, he complained of pain in the stomach. He told to Sharan and his father that police had beaten him in the stomach, back and in private parts.

The word private parts broke the heart of Sharan. He was extremely anger and bursts into tears.

Sharan took his brother in the arms and made him lay in the bed. As he tried to go away, Akhil said: "Hey, brother. Stay for sometime with me da."

Sharan feels emotional as he called him brother and said touching his cheek, "Don't worry da. I am there with you." Sharan made him lay in his lap and Akhil cried murmuring, "Police brutally tortured me da. I was unable to bear it."

"Forget about it da. See. You are already looking tired. Sleep peacefully."

Around 9:00 PM, Sharan said to Sai Akhil, "Don't worry da. I will take you to KMCH, the next morning." Sai Akhil slept in his laps and Sharan too sleeps in the same bed. When sleeping, he hears the screaming of Sai Akhil and goes to see him lying on the floors of bathroom.

In the wash basin, he sees a pool of blood and calls his father. They takes him to hospital, upon panicking. There, he was declared dead by the doctor. Hearing the death of Sai Akhil, his class friends were devastated.

Adhithya starts to regret and cry hearing the death of Akhil. During the post-mortem, Janaarth sees the uncontrollable tears of Adhithya and comes near to him.

"You seemed disturbing and panicked. Why you have to cry this much aloud da?"

Adhithya have no words and Sharan angrily confronts the guys asking them, "Hey. Why should the police arrest my brother da? What happened actually da? Why did you all escape by letting my brother caught da?"

While Janaarth and Dayalan managed stating: "We feared for the police da. That's why we rided the bike faster." But, Sharan sees Adhithya's silence and asked him, "When you was in the class, you would always laugh for no reasons and used to be funny. But, why you are deeply regretting now da? Tell me. Why did the police caught my brother da?"

Adhithya wiped off his tears and leaves from the place, without leaving any words. Sharan's family refuse to get Akhil's post-mortem report and protests outside the hospital asking for re-postmortem.

Laywer B. Ramkumar questioned asking, "Why should the police take the picture of Akhil along with his family members? It is understandable if they had taken the picture of Akhil alone."

A day after his death, Annalakshmi and Ramakrishnan, moved the court claiming that her son died of police torture and the post-mortem was not done properly. According to the first report, neither external nor internal injuries were found on Akhil’s body.

While hearing the petition on December 8, the Madras High Court ordered a re-postmortem on Akhil’s body. Accordingly, another post-mortem was conducted at EHI government hospital the same day. The police first refused to allow the doctor – Saravanan – who accompanied the family, to observe the post-mortem. When the family and relatives protested, the police allowed the doctor inside the post-mortem hall after a six-hour delay. It was only after the second post-mortem was conducted that the family accepted the body and performed the last rites.

The court ordered to submit the second-post mortem report on December 30th. Sharan was determined to find the reason behind his brother's custodial torture and roams wild, after his death.

Sharan visits Adhithya a few days later in his house, where he meets his mother. She says, "He and his father have gone for Semanampathy pa. Would return only after seven days."

Sharan waits for seven days, hoping for the arrival of Adhithya. He looks awry and doesn't speak normal like his normal days, during the presence of Sai Akhil. He and Sai Akhil are third-year B.Com(Retail Marketing) student of PSG College of Arts and Science.

Since the joining, it was Janaarth, Dayalan and Adhithya, who were close to Akhil. More often, Adhithya speaks with Sharan and Akhil. However, Adhithya starts to avoid Sharan upon his arrival and doesn't speak to him, citing Short-filmmaking and other works. He starts to become suspicious of Adhithya's activities.

One day, during the absence of few people around Adhithya, Sharan angrily chases him. Beating him up black and blue, he asked him for truth. As he didn't reveal anything, Sharan touches him sentimentally by asking him to promise in the Rakhi, which he tied to him.

Tears rolled from Adhithya and he said: "Buddy. Before few days, I and Sai Akhil enrolled for Ecosystem activity programme da. I went for IPR Activity as well as Community Engagement activity. While doing these activities simultaneously, I wasn't able to observe Sai Akhil frequently da. I realize something had gone wrong upon spotting Akhil's suspicious activites for the past few days. Due to works, I didn't talk with him da. He too was busy in playing tennis and a military recruitment drive and hence sidelined me. I henceforth, regretted and cried for my negligence in handling him with care da."

Sharan starts to shed tears upon hearing this news and Adhithya said, "I am sorry da." However, Sharan pushed him away and cried out aloud.

Adhithya came near to him and said, "Sharan. When pain brings you down, don’t be silly, don’t close your eyes and cry, you just might be in the best position to see the sunshine." Touching his arms, Adhithya further said: "Sorry da. I was selfish. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t feel the way I do. When I start thinking this way I tell myself that feelings are neither good nor bad—they simply are. In the midst of intense negative feelings, whether fear, anger, depression, etc., it can feel as though they will last forever, like they will never end. It promotes emotional balance to maintain an awareness that all feelings are temporary, and that they always change." Both the friends had an emotional hug and Sharan apologized to him for beating him up to which Adhithya said, "Getting beatings and humiliations became my part of life da."

On one side, Sharan tried his best to get justice for his brother with the help of few political party leaders and Adhithya. On the other hand, Coimbatore police official says to the reporter, "Sai Akhil was not ill-treated at the police station and his mother was called to the station only because he was a student. In fact, they were waiting outside the police station throughout the inquiry process. We have released the CCTV footage of the inquiry as well. We had a tip-off that ganja transactions are happening in the locality. So the police were conducting checks. It was then that Manikandan’s vehicle passed by. Since he did not stop, police chased and caught them. Several criminal cases were registered against one of Akhil’s friend, Sanjay."

Getting a lead, Sharan and Adhithya goes to meet Sanjay in Peelamedu. However, the latter runs away due to fear only to be stopped by Janaarth and Dayalan in either sides, who too have came in hands to support Sharan.

Sanjay refuses to tell truth at first. However, he cannot hold his guilt. So, he reveals to him that: "He and his friends were involved in local bike theft, drugs trafficking and drug rampaging. Using some local students, he sold drugs and did numerous of crimes like robbery, during the leisure time from NGP Arts and Science. Akhil landed to Sanjay for a help in getting justice to a girl named Anjana, a scheduled caste girl from Christianity Public School of Peelamedu, who had been forced to convert as a Christian and later on got gang raped, harassed and tortured by her hostel warden and aged Christian pastors. This case was allegedly stopped by SP of Coimbatore and Akhil however, took the video."

Sanjay said the news to one of the police accidentally during an arrest. He didn't expect that, police would subject Akhil to brutal tortures under custody. Sharan spared his life and lets him go. He is devastated and heartbroken.

He sits depressed crying aloud. While, Janaarth and Adhithya tries to console him, which he objects.

"If one questions against the irregularities in our society, will our law subject them to violence? Doesn't we have a humanity?"

Adhithya doesn't have any words to say and instead tells him, "Buddy. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. But, in today's world everything that we see are dirty. Because our surroundings are changed. For police, your brother's death is just another Sathankulam murder case. For the government and opposition party, this news is another weapon for winning elections and seats. For Common man, this case is just another news, informed by a reporter."

Janaarth asked Sharan not to dig into this case in further, as nothing could be changed and says, "We have to move on." He further tells, "Just think about your parents da. After Sai Akhil, they believes in you. Forget about this and move on da. Nothing is going to change here."

Sharan says, "To forget ah? Hey. He is my blood da. My brother. I and he grown up together, ate together and had various dreams da. Till now, I feel painful da. I’m not an early bird or a night owl, I’m a permanently exhausted pigeon."

Sharan collects the evidence against present government's illegal activities and atrocities. He further gets the strong evidence against Sub-Inspector, that he collected during the leisure times from college. However, Minister Ekambaram, who hired the Sub-Inspector to harm Akhil kidnaps Sharan in the mid-way and takes him to his secluded camp.

As he asks for the evidence, Sharan laughed and said: "He have given the evidence to his friends Adhithya, Janaarth and Dayalan, who have already submitted it to the opposition party leader Singamalai and he have exposed the atrocities through social media."

Left with no way and having been red-tapped, the minister spares Sharan, who walks in peace, having avenged his brother's death legally. A few days later, he comes to know that: "The reports that he prepared through hardwork and sincerity all gone useless." Since, people forget the present issues. Government have easily diverted them with the help of reporters and media, who works as their dogs with the recent Bangalore Hijab issue news, spreading all over.

Sharan confronts the opposition party leader angrily who tells him: "People are given bribes, alcohols, drugs and cigarettes by our Tamil Nadu government. Until these things are banned, our people neither reports the atrocities nor questions about the injustice. Whatever questions we ask to the media or to the government, they continues to be corrupt and our reports would go useless in this society."

Sharan goes from his house and returns to his house where his father asked him, "What happened Sharan? Will the post mortem report come good?"

"It's in the hands of god dad." Sharan said, implying that: "Only god could know the real culprits and humans never reveal the reality due to their greed for money, fame and power."

Sharan apologized to his brother's photo for his helplessness. Later on, he sought the permission of his parents to go for his NCC, to which they agree. He proceeds to walk away from the house. But, he is not happier. He have a pale facial expressions and the level of anxiety is higher.

EPILOGUE:

Every society had its elites, of course: its wealthy, well-educated, upwardly mobile types. Machiavelli, a republican himself, called them the grandi. The trick to preserving a republic was not to allow them to predominate as a class, to amass power at the expense of their fellows. Or more precisely: the key was not to allow them to amass power at the expense of the common man.

-Josh Hawley

Akhil's post-mortem report's result comes that, he was brutally tortured by the police and the people, involved in this were arrested, with few good and sincere constables as witness, due to which people still have faith in police department and reporters respectively. The ruling party was criticized by public for their negligence, which caused the death of an innocent student. Amidst all these things, corruption continues to prolong and innocent people continue to lose their life.