Madurai (Tamil Nadu), March 23 A local court on Monday found all nine accused police officers guilty in the case of custodial torture of a man and his son, leading to their deaths at Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district in 2020.
The First Additional District and Sessions Judge G Muthukumaran declared that the prosecution had proven its case and found the police officers guilty of causing the death of the father and son. The sentence for the convicted police officers will be announced on March 30, the judge said.
On June 19, 2020, the owner of a mobile phone shop, P Jayaraj (59), and his son, J Benicks (31), were taken to the Sathankulam police station in connection with an alleged violation of rules to prevent the spread of a coronavirus pandemic. The father and son died on June 23 at the Kovilpatti sub-jail following alleged brutal custodial torture at the police station.
The case, which includes the charge of murder, against 10 police officers, including Inspector S Sridhar, Sub Inspectors K Balakrishnan, P Raghuganesh, Head Constables, S Murugan and A Samidurai, was initially investigated by the CB-CID and later taken over by the CBI. The incident had caused a major public outcry in the state at the time.
There were 105 witnesses, including Selvarani (wife of Jeyaraj) and then Sathankulam police woman head constable R Revathi, in the case. As many as 116 documents were marked, which included the judicial inquiry reports on the deaths of Jayaraj and Benicks.
One of the accused, Special SI, A Pauldurai, died during the pendency of the case and 9 others, including Sridhar, continued to be in Madurai Central Prison.
The CBI initially filed a chargesheet and later a supplementary report, which together amounted to nearly 2,500 pages. Attempts by the accused to secure bail proved futile during the nearly 6-year-old trial.
The daughter of the deceased, Jeyaraj, Persis, told reporters that the court has, in its judgment, said that her father and brother died due to the injuries inflicted on them by the 10 police officers.
Quoting the judgment, she said that the police officers "beat up her father and brother all night and until early morning."
Asked about the judgment citing the police officers' claim to "get trained by beating the father-son," she said it showed that they were not at all human. She demanded that the guilty be handed exemplary punishment, which would serve as a deterrent. "The CBI did a good job," she said.
She further said: "We have been waiting for this day. We believe we have received justice. The sentence will be announced on March 30. We have faith in the judiciary. No other family should suffer like us."
Jebasingh of Tirunelveli, an advocate for the victims' family, said that blood stains from a van (used to transport them to the jail), lathis, and a table in the police station helped establish the fact of torture and prove the charges.
The court has sought details of the assets and last drawn salaries of the convicted police officers from the state government to impose a penalty on them. The court has also sought a report on the health condition of the accused/convicted police officers, he added.
