Thoothukudi Custodial Death Case: Madurai Court has given a big verdict in the famous Jayaraj and Bennix custodial death case that took place in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu. The court has given death sentence to 9 policemen. Know what was the whole matter, what came out in the CBI investigation and what the court said.
A painful incident that took place in the year 2020 in Tuticorin (Thoothukudi) district of Tamil Nadu shocked the entire country. During the lockdown, a father and son who were arrested for running a small shop died in police custody. Now after almost six years, a big decision of the court has come in this matter.
Madurai court awarded death sentence to 9 policemen
Madurai District Court on Monday gave a historic verdict and awarded death sentence to 9 policemen. This punishment has been given in the case of custodial death of businessman P Jayaraj and his son J Benicks.
The policemen sentenced include Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspector Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh along with policemen Murugan, Samadurai, Muthuraja, Chelladurai, Thomas Francis and Velumuthu. The court described this case as a serious example of abuse of power. He also said that there are many honest police officers in the state and this decision will not create an atmosphere of fear in the police system.
The court said – the heart trembles just after reading it.
While delivering the verdict, the court said that the father and son were stripped and beaten brutally. Just reading the details of this incident makes the heart tremble. The court considered it in the category of “rarest of rare” i.e. extremely rare and heinous crime. On this basis it was decided to give maximum punishment.
CBI had said – This is a crime that shakes the soul of the society.
This case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The investigating agency had told the court that the crime was extremely cruel and involved serious violation of human rights. According to CBI, the victims were brutally beaten with weapons and sticks at the police station. The testimony of three eyewitnesses also strengthened the allegation.
The whole story started from the night of 19 June 2020
This incident is of 19 June 2020. At that time Corona lockdown was going on in the country.
Police alleged that the father and son had kept their mobile shop open despite the lockdown rules. On this charge he was taken to Sathankulam police station. They were later sent to judicial custody, but both died within a few days. The family members alleged that they were brutally beaten throughout the night at the police station. There were serious injury marks on his body and heavy bleeding was also reported.
Woman constable’s testimony became important evidence
During the investigation, the testimony of a woman constable proved to be very important. He told that the father and son were beaten the whole night and there were blood stains on the tables and sticks of the police station. Another big problem came to light during the investigation. The CCTV footage of the police station was not secure. It was told that the recording system was automatically deleted every day and the footage of that day was also not kept safe.
The hearing lasted for five years
The hearing of this case lasted for more than five years. Statements of more than 100 witnesses were recorded during the trial. In the end, the court gave its verdict on the basis of evidence and testimonies and gave death sentence to the guilty policemen.
Questions were raised on police custody across the country.
When this incident came to light in 2020, anger spread across the country. Questions were raised everywhere from social media to human rights organizations on violence in police custody. Now many people are considering this decision of the court as a big step towards justice, although the legal process may still continue.