Theft case against Ajith Kumar closed: CBI to Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court

In a major twist in the illegal custodial murder case of temple security guard B. Ajith Kumar in Sivaganga, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, that the case of jewel theft, which led to the victim’s detention, has been closed.

During the hearing of bail petitions filed by accused police personnel, Justice S. Srimathy asked the CBI about the status of the alleged jewel theft case and whether the allegations were true. CBI said the case was closed. The judge said, “So there was nothing?” he asked. CBI said “no”.

Expressing his sadness, the judge said, “So there is nothing. A person was beaten to death in a case where nothing happened.” The judge asked the CBI whether a case would be registered against the complainant Nikitha, who was the root cause of the incident. CBI said that they will submit a report to the court regarding this matter.

Regarding the 10 police personnel named as accused in the custodial death case, the CBI said the investigating agency has filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet in the case before the trial court, Fifth Additional District and Sessions Court in Madurai. This was a case of police overreach, it was reported. The court postponed the hearing with a request for bail.

CBI closed the alleged jewel theft case as there was no evidence and material.

B. Ajith Kumar was a temporary security worker at Badrakali Amman Temple in Madapuram in Sivaganga district.

On June 27, 2025, Nikitha and her mother from Thirumangalam in Madurai district visited the temple. Nikitha reportedly gave her car keys to Ajith Kumar and asked him to park the vehicle as she needed to help her mother, who had difficulty walking. Allegedly, when they returned, they found their bags in the car open and the gold jewelry inside missing. Ajith Kumar was interrogated. He died during interrogation on June 28, 2025.

The State Government handed over the investigation into both the cases to the CBI. Five police personnel – Prabhu, Kannan, Sankara Manikandan, Raja and Anand were arrested and taken into judicial custody. Later, Ramachandran (police driver) was named as an accused in the case and was taken into judicial custody.

Later, the then Manamadurai Deputy Superintendent of Police N. Shanmugasundaram, the then Thirupuvanam Police Inspector P. Ramesh Kumar, the then Superintendent of Police Siva Kumar and the then Head Constable Ilayaraja were also named as accused in the case.