Wails and cries for justice as Dhamendran laid to rest
"Why did you take my son away from me?" wailed the aggrieved mother of death-in-custody victim N Dhamendran, 31, during the funeral service at their home in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, today.
Saraswathi, 58, was lamenting that there was nobody to look after her now, with her son being no more.
"Why did you take my son away from me?" wailed the aggrieved mother of death-in-custody victim N Dhamendran, 31, during the funeral service at their home in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, today.
Saraswathi, 58, was lamenting that there was nobody to look after her now, with her son being no more.
Wringing her hands through her hair hysterically, Saraswathi (c
entre in photo
) was wracked with grief as she sat beside her son's casket, cheeks damp with tears.
Her husband, B Narayanasamy, 59, only looked on silently, his eyes welling with tears, pressing his hands together in prayer.
Saraswathi's bereaved cries were not alone in the crowd of some 100 people who came to pay their respects to Dhamendran.
She screamed several times, "Why don't you (God) take me instead?" and tenderly cupped her son's stiff face in her hands, and then murmuring softly to the body.
Her daughter-in-law, S Marry (
left
), 28, seated in a chair by her late husband's feet, grim-faced, was too deflated to accept his
untimely death
after the torrent of events following his arrest.
At times, Marry would touch his feet, or move to his side, her hands trembling as she brushed his hair, his cold body and his cheeks.
Like Dhamendran, her eyes appeared devoid of life.
Dhamendran's bruised and battered corpse, on which were found numerous rotan beatings and staples, was draped with sashes of white cloth, leaving only his face visible.
Garlands of flowers were placed across his chest, blanketing the entire length of the casket.
Family members, friends and strangers crowded round his physical remains in a circle, an unspoken understanding hovering above their heads, their thoughts on the youth who was the victim of death while in police custody.
Perhaps now, the soul of Dhamendran could have been at peace.
Family lawyer N Surendran called for an independent police force to investigate Dhamendran's death, saying he believes the police who had detained Dhamendran were responsible for his death.
Take prompt action, PM told
"I want them to investigate why they covered up the case by saying he died of asthma," Surendran, who is also PKR vice-president and newly-elected Padang Serai MP, said at a press conference outside the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters later this afternoon.
Surendran (
left
) also urged both Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to take prompt action on the matter.
"They hold the power to bring about changes so no one else will die in lock-ups," he added.
One week is all the time the police should need, Surendran said, adding that if there was no response by then, a protest for justice would begin, outside federal police headquarters at Bukit Aman.
Dhamendran was picked up by police on May 11 after he lodged a report at the Pudu police station over his involvement in a fight. He was remanded at the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters.
His parents and wife had not been told of Dhamendran's arrest and were only informed of the matter on Sunday and saw him at the police lock-up on the same day. The victim was also known to have asthma.
Dhamendran was supposed to be released on bail yesterday. However, his wife received a shock when the police informed her that her husband was dead and asked her to identify the body at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital .
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