Young lawyer fights mothers cause

MADURAI: As a 14-year-old, Malaichamy had heard his mother Angammal narrate the humiliation and torture she had undergone at the Karuppayurani and Oomachikulam police stations where his father died in custody. That deep pain and agony had moved the Standard VIII student then, often leaving him in tears. At the same time, it also instilled in the young boy a steely resolve to grow up and fight for justice for his mother and deceased father.Today, as a budding lawyer, Malaichamy is shouldering the rare responsibility of assisting special public prosecutor P Chinnaraja, who is representing his mother’s case during the trial at the Fast Track Court III, Madurai. Angammal was allegedly stripped and tortured for five days in police custody when she had gone to inquire the whereabouts of her husband Kuruvaiya who was being questioned in connection with a case in 1998.Police personnel belonging to the Karuppayurani and Oomachikulam police stations had separately tortured the husband and wife. Kuruvaiya died in the alleged custodial violence. A case registered on the basis of an inquiry by the Revenue Divisional Officer is now in its final stages of trial.“My mother had told me about her sufferings and how my father died a painful death. Later, when I was in Standard XI, I was exposed to another sensational case of police brutality when I accompanied a civil rights group to see Rita Mary, a rape victim. That meeting made me resolve to study law and fight for the poor,” Malaichamy said. Malaichamy had completed his BBA with financial help from the People’s Watch and completed LLB from a private law college in Mysore in 2008. Later, he enrolled for the ML degree at the University of Madras and also joined as an assistant to the special public prosecutor.