Between 2000 and Feb 2011, 156 people died in detention.

Some of the most gruesome cases that have garnered media attention are Kugan's passing of skeletal muscle damage in 2009 and C.Sugumar's death where he was allegedlly handcuffed, smeared with tumeric and beaten to death by the police.

Now the limelight is on N. Dharmendran, a husband and father who died a brutal death while in custody.