In a twist to the investigation into the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati has been arrested, one of the five key accused on Wednesday did a turnaround, saying all his earlier statements were made under "duress".
Kathiravan told a remand court in Kanchipuram that the police tortured him right from November 3, the day he was arrested.
According to the prosecution, the seer was arrested following information provided by Kathiravan and another accused, Rejini alias Chinna, both arrested on November 9.
Kathiravan had made an in-camera statement under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code before another magistrate court on November 19.
Kathiravan and Chinna were produced before Judicial Magistrate I G Uthamaraj for the extension of their 15-day judicial remand, which expired on Wednesday.
Chinna also said that the police tortured him.
At one stage, the prosecution objected to the recording of Kathiravan's statement, but the magistrate overruled the objection.
After recording their submissions, the magistrate extended their remand till December 8.