Kundangal Kaadu Puliyampatii in Sankagiri taluk in Salem district of Tamil Nadu is a hamlet so remote that it may not even show up on Google maps. Its only claim to fame is that it is next to Edappadi village, the home town of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. In the last few days, however, Kundangal Kaadu is in the limelight for a shocking and distressing reason\u2014the\u00a0 humiliation and torture of Sadhu Saravanan by a police inspector that subsequently triggered the Sadhu\u2019s death by suicide.<\/p>\n
Sadhu Saravanan, 47, a resident of the village, was a member of a Siddhar <\/em>(saintly followers of a Tamil spiritual tradition known as Siddha) sub sect known as the Sivan adiyar <\/em>or humble devotees of Shiva. Popularly known as \u201cSamiar<\/em> (Holy man)\u00a0 Saravanan,\u201d the householder was an occult practitioner who practised esoteric rituals such as exorcism or driving away evil spirits, foretelling the future, performing rituals and poojas <\/em>and offering talismans or sacred threads to address health ailments of the people in and around the village.<\/p>\n On August 14, 2020, based on a tip off, Antony Michael, Sub Inspector (SI) of Thevur police station, swooped down on Sadhu Saravanan. According to the local police, Saravanan, dressed in a saffron dhoti, was attending to two women who it is said, were possessed by evil spirits. The women reportedly told the police that the sadhu had \u201cforced\u201d them to drink liquor.<\/p>\n The police also claimed that they targeted Saravanan as he was reported to be performing \u201cnaked poojas\u201d with women. Abusing and taunting him for being \u201chalf naked,\u201d Antony Michael humiliated and thrashed the Sadhu so violently that his cane is reported to have broken into two pieces. He also reportedly \u201cadvised\u201d him to shave off his beard and take up employment.<\/p>\n Saravanan\u2019s family that included his wife, son and daughter, witnessed the police brutality. The SI also threatened\u00a0 to expose him as a \u201cpoli (fake) samiyar<\/em> (sadhu)\u201d\u2014a frequently used weapon to intimidate and silence\u00a0 victims, especially sadhus. According to the family, they were intimidated and threatened by the police to \u201ckeep quiet\u201d and Saravanan\u2019s children, who are still minors, were also beaten up.<\/p>\n Saravanan\u2019s family says that traumatised and deeply humiliated by the incident, especially because he was shamed in front of his children, \u00a0Sadhu Saravanan \u00a0left home the next day and did not return. Alarmed, the local people and Saravanan\u2019s friends searched for him. The next day, Saravanan\u2019s friends and family received a WhatsApp video<\/a> sent by Saravanan where he blamed Antony Michael for his humiliation that led to unbearable stress and trauma that was driving him to end his life.<\/p>\n