In contrast to its neighbours, the TN government has failed to invest in public action, instead insisting on channelling all its efforts through the bureaucracy.The Sathankulam custodial deaths, which happened as a result of extreme lockdown policing, are the tip of the iceberg of a COVID-19 crisis that is beginning to engulf Tamil Nadu. New infections are steadily on the rise, as is a death toll, the numbers of which have clearly been underplayed.