Dilshan, 13, was the second child of Kumara and Kalaivani, everyday bets that lived on the tenant Indira Gandhi to Palalavan Salai. He left school after his father fell ill and left for the plastic segregation unit to work. There were army officers full of trees carrying fruits in the vicinity that attracted children from apartments across the road. On July 3, 2011, DilShan and his friends Sanjay, Poe and Vignesh started to enroll in the enclave to collect almonds around 13:30 to throw stones on almonds and mangoes. His friends suddenly heard the bang and, to their shock, he saw Dilshan sink down. They ran to their tenant and informed the Kalaivans.
Declared unconscious
The Kalaivans and others threw themselves into the enclave and found that Dilshan was lying with his head injury. He was taken to Authoricks to the nearby Government Government Hospital Gandhi, where the doctor in the emergency department declared him unconscious at 13:45, a doctor in the accident register wrote that the boy fell from a tree at 13:30 near the Flagstaff road, old officer Fort Glacis. He noticed two head injuries: one on the left temple and the other on the right temple. When the boy was unconscious, the doctor demanded the services of a neurosurgeon and prescribed CT scan, who revealed brain damage. Despite intensive treatment, the boy died at 17:20
Dilshan. File | Photo Credit: Hindic Archives
The reports enraged the residents of the lease interest who were besieged by the neighborhoods. Army authorities started investigations. Muthuraj, police inspector, Fort Police Station, was investigating. In fact, Karuppusama, the Army Guard, said in his testimony that around 14:00 he received instructions from the army’s control room so that he would not let the outsiders enter the neighborhood and found the crowd throwing stones.
Firearm injury
The autopsy revealed that the boy died of shock and bleeding due to the injury of the head of firearms. The recovery of two pieces of metal (one of the brass/copper and the other lead) from the area, about five feet from the site, indicated the use of a revolver. The police were helpless about who pressed the trigger.
Initially, it was reported that the boy was shot, supposedly security, while he climbed the tree to rip the fruit. However, the military authorities denied the accusations and claimed that the armed guards were not located in the neighborhoods.
The requirement of the main minister
Minister Jayalithaa described the incident unacceptable and demanded that the one who started fire was handed over to the police. The main general of the VK Singh army warned against a strict action if someone from the army was found to kill. The incident caused so much heat between the army and the civilians that the CEO of the police transferred the probe to the crime branch of July.
CB-CID, July 9, arrested Lieutenant Col. (Retd.) K. Ramaraj, who lived on No. 11/4, OEG officers, Staff House Road flag, Fort St. George. Although he left the service of April 30 of the same year, he was allowed to take up the house for the next three months.
Colonel Colonel K. Ramaraj. File | Photo Credit: Hindic Archives
Ramaraj was holding 0.30 Springfield rifles and the ammunition assigned him when she was in operation. The rifle license expired on March 12, 2008. When the officials searched his house after the murder appeared, the weapon was not found.
Police investigations revealed that on the day of DilShan reduced the folded wall of the neighborhood, while Sanjay stood on the wall and just stood on the sidewalk outside. The retirement officer was angry after he saw the boy when he warned them in the past against the offense. From the balcony of his house he started fire from a rifle. Jaya, home help residing in the house of another officer in the neighborhood, told the police that Ramaraj was susceptible to anger, and he would chase the boys who scalaned the compound wall to choose almonds. She also overthrows that on one occasion the boys damaged his car’s windshield.
Ramaraj told the police that he had dropped the rifle in Cooum on the Napier bridge and threw unused cassettes in the river near the hostel of Mlas. The fire service staff renewed them. The news confirmed that the bullet that killed DilShan was fired from this rifle.
On August 3, 2011, the CB-CID filed a fee certificate against Ramaraja for causing DilShan’s death by launching fire, punished according to Section 302 (Murder) of the Indian Code, covered the leaves after Dilshan was moved to the hospital and kept without a license.
Confession
R. Sekar, a former CEO of the police, who was the next CEO of the police (ADGP), CB-CID, said the case was demanding. “We put our hearts and soul into it, combined the crime and perpetrators of the crime and restored the weapons used and confessed the accused. We ensured the belief of the accused.”
The criminal prosecution was explored by 55 witnesses and created 60 exhibits and 14 material objects. On April 20, 2012, the judge of other meetings of the court R. Radha Radha condemned Ramaraj of murder accusations, hiding evidence and holding a gun without a license. He was sentenced to improving his life and asked to pay 60,000 GBP, of which Dilshan’s mother should be paid 50,000 GBP as a substitute.
The appeal was rejected
Ramaraj filed an appeal with the Supreme Court in Madras. In 2013, a bench involving Justices S. Rajeswaran and PN Prakash refused to appeal and concluded that Dilshan had died of gunshot wounds, and not any other thing, much less falling from a tree.
The judges, however, decided that there was no material to prove that the accused tried to cover the leaf instead of the occurrence, as he claims to prosecute. It was therefore exempt from the accusation according to Section 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence). The High Court confirmed a life imprisonment awarded Ramaraj.
Published – April 13, 2025 22:39
