What RTI data reveals about custodial torture, lack of CCTV facilities in Tamil Nadu’s police stations

While the Tamil Nadu police has been consistently lauded as among the best in the country, recent RTI information revealed that in 2024, three hundred inmates entered prison with broken limbs, petty offenders were more vulnerable to custodial torture and police stations rarely had CCTV facilities.

OFTEN RANKED AMONG THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY, by independent reports and the government alike, the Tamil Nadu (‘TN’) police is commonly lauded as a model force. Specifically, the India Justice Report 2025 has ranked the TN police  at the top among eighteen large and mid-sized states on various factors, including diversity, conviction rates, and modernisation. Prisons in Tamil Nadu are also ranked best for their jail management. The TN Police are often praised for their large conviction rates of rowdies, reduced murder rates including their self-portrayal as the “Indian Scotland Yard”. 

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Is there any light?

Time and again, there have been several appeals to both the central and state governments calling for police reform. In fact, the current state government constituted the fifth police commission a few months after coming to power in 2021. 

The commission this year recommended several reforms including pay hike, initiatives for fostering public-police relationship, and mental health training, among others. In a country with concrete police impunity, no torture law and very minimal police accountability, reccommendations such as this should be sincerely implemented. We strongly hope that this state government known for its social justice model, and its steadfast commitment to state autonomy and federalism begin translating these reforms into action rather than dwelling on ranks and reports.