A violent knock on the door in the early hours of May 30, 1992, woke up Vijaya*, 26 and her husband Gopal*, 27, who were fast asleep. A posse of police from the Annamalai Nagar station at Chidambaram barged into their hut and pulled Gopal out by his hair. Despite Vijaya’s protests, they dragged him to the police vehicle and whisked him away. At dawn, Vijaya went to the station where she saw her husband in the lock-up. A constable told her that her husband would be released shortly after an inquiry. She was told that frequent thefts of electric items were reported from the neighbourhood and since Gopal was involved in a petty theft case, the police brought him to the station for an inquiry.
Vijaya belonged to a most backward caste, and had been living at Chidambaram. At a young age, she got married to a married man against the wishes of her parents. She gave birth to a child which later died. While working as a part-time sweeper at a college at Annamalai Nagar, she became acquainted with Gopal, a mason, and they got married. As the theft of fans, motor pumps, and tape recorders was reported frequently in the Annamalai Nagar police station limits, the police constituted a special team. It was led by sub-inspector A. Ibrahim Sheriff and included six constables. Since Gopal was facing a case of theft, the team took him to the police station and confined him, along with two other suspects, in the lock-up.
