Murder in jail: A family comes to terms with it
Published Date: 6/18/2007 - (NIE)
A SELVARAJ
Chennai, June 17: Eight years is too long a period for events to remain afresh in one's memory.
But Vimala Jayakumar still remembers the events of November 17, 1999. For others in Chennai, the date may not ring a bell, but the mention of the riots inside the Chennai Central Prison will certainly conjure up gory images of blood and death on that fateful day.
‘‘On that day, I was informed that riots had broken out inside the prison and that my husband Jayakumar, who was the Deputy Jailer, was rushed to the nearby Government General Hospital. I reached there only to find his charred body,'' recalls Vimala who has now shifted base to her native place in Sivaganga district.
Jayakumar, trapped inside the records room, was roasted alive when a group of prisoners set fire to the records.
The riots were fuelled by the death of an inmate, ‘Boxer' Vadivelu, due to stomach pain. The prisoners charged that the officials had failed to provide medical care to Vadivelu and clashed with the jailers and wardens early in the morning.
In the police firing that ensued, nine prisoners were killed. Deputy Jailer Jayakumar was charred to death and constable Devarathnam killed.
‘‘For months, I was repeating my tale of woes to officer after officer who came for inquiry. Finally, to help me come out of the trauma and take care of my two children, my parents convinced me to move to our native place,'' Vimala told Express over phone from Sivaganga.
‘‘I am slowly recovering from the trauma. After all, my children have only me to take care of. I am now encouraging them to concentrate on their studies,'' she said. Their daughter has now passed Plus Two and is hoping to get a medical seat.
The police on their part had registered a case against history-sheeter ‘Burma' Seenu and a few other rowdies for instigating the prison riots. ‘‘Seenu was convicted in the case.
But once out of jail, he took up drug trade and was again arrested. Recently, he was injured in a fight with his son-in-law, also a detenu in the Puzhal prison and now undergoing treatment at the Royapettah Government Hospital,'' a police officer said.
‘‘Jayakumar had paid the price for being honest. I was a Jailer in the Vellore prison when the riots took place in Chennai. Jayakumar and I were good friends and batchmates. We both had undergone training together after joining the Prison Department. Today, I miss him badly,'' said a prison official on condition of anonymity.
A senior prison official, who was on duty during the riots, said ‘‘I and a few other officials had a miraculous escape when a mob chased us. After running to safety, we found Jayakumar was missing. By 2 pm we could only get his charred body from the record room.
Published Date: 6/18/2007 - (NIE)
A SELVARAJ
Chennai, June 17: Eight years is too long a period for events to remain afresh in one's memory.
But Vimala Jayakumar still remembers the events of November 17, 1999. For others in Chennai, the date may not ring a bell, but the mention of the riots inside the Chennai Central Prison will certainly conjure up gory images of blood and death on that fateful day.‘‘On that day, I was informed that riots had broken out inside the prison and that my husband Jayakumar, who was the Deputy Jailer, was rushed to the nearby Government General Hospital. I reached there only to find his charred body,'' recalls Vimala who has now shifted base to her native place in Sivaganga district.
Jayakumar, trapped inside the records room, was roasted alive when a group of prisoners set fire to the records.
The riots were fuelled by the death of an inmate, ‘Boxer' Vadivelu, due to stomach pain. The prisoners charged that the officials had failed to provide medical care to Vadivelu and clashed with the jailers and wardens early in the morning.
In the police firing that ensued, nine prisoners were killed. Deputy Jailer Jayakumar was charred to death and constable Devarathnam killed.
‘‘I am slowly recovering from the trauma. After all, my children have only me to take care of. I am now encouraging them to concentrate on their studies,'' she said. Their daughter has now passed Plus Two and is hoping to get a medical seat.
The police on their part had registered a case against history-sheeter ‘Burma' Seenu and a few other rowdies for instigating the prison riots. ‘‘Seenu was convicted in the case.
But once out of jail, he took up drug trade and was again arrested. Recently, he was injured in a fight with his son-in-law, also a detenu in the Puzhal prison and now undergoing treatment at the Royapettah Government Hospital,'' a police officer said.
‘‘Jayakumar had paid the price for being honest. I was a Jailer in the Vellore prison when the riots took place in Chennai. Jayakumar and I were good friends and batchmates. We both had undergone training together after joining the Prison Department. Today, I miss him badly,'' said a prison official on condition of anonymity.
A senior prison official, who was on duty during the riots, said ‘‘I and a few other officials had a miraculous escape when a mob chased us. After running to safety, we found Jayakumar was missing. By 2 pm we could only get his charred body from the record room.
Very bad incident.We were visited that jail as part of our Training from RICA,Vellore,TN just a week back(1999 Batch).very rude and hard core Prisoners,they were commenting during our visit...
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