Jayaraj and Fenix, ordinary middle-class individuals, were tortured and allegedly murdered in police custody for just one violation - they broke the lockdown curfew and refused the shut their mobile accessories shop in?Sathakulam, Thoothukudi district, when the police approached them.?
Heartbreaking and gory details of their killings in police custody surfaced on social media, sparking widespread anger all across the country.?
#JusticeForJayarajAndFenix has been the topic of debate on social media. P Jayaraj (59) and his son Fenix (31), (mistakenly being called "Fenix"), were picked up by the police on June 19.?Here's what followed:?
When cops on lockdown patrol in Sathakulam caught Jayraj breaking lockdown rules, they scolded him for a mere 15-minute delay in pulling the shutters down. According to India Today, Jayaraj was taken in by the police and soon after his son Fenix was arrested too when he went to inquire about his father¡¯s arrest.
The two of them were booked under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 353 (use of force to deter public servant from duty) 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and 506(2) (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
They were?allegedly subjected to sexual torture and physical abuse in Police custody.?Chennai-based news site The Federal?quoted eyewitnesses as saying that Jayaraj and his son Bennicks were allegedly sodomised in police custody.?The report stated that when the father-son duo was released from jail, they were found profusely bleeding from their rectum.?
?¡°Between 7 am and 12 pm on June 20, the father and son had changed at least seven lungies (waistcloth) each as they had become wet due to blood oozing from their rectums,¡± The Federal quoted a friend of Bennicks as saying.
India Today quoted Advocate S Manimaran, an eyewitness to the brutality as saying," We were standing out and we were seeing the whole incident from outside through a glass gate. Bennicks and his father were beaten. In the morning there was blood all over the place where they were sitting."?
He said, ¡°I gave them four clothes to change. We had laid down a blanket in the seat of the car when we went to pick them up, Fenix had lost a lot of flesh on his back. He was a well-built man. The car driver was in tears seeing their state. The spot where Fenix sat was covered with blood, the place where Jayaraj was sitting was also all blood. The blankets are still with us. They were beaten to death.¡±
The family of the two deceased refused to accept their bodies and demanded an offence of murder be registered against two police sub-inspectors
Various political parties including the DMK wanted action against those responsible for the duo's death.?
Party leader and Tuticorin Lok Sabha MP, Kanimozhi, dubbed the incident as "violence" committed by the police and wanted action against two sub-inspectors for their alleged roles in the incident.In a series of tweets, she said their mere transfer to the Armed Reserve was not a punishment, and added she had taken up with the District Collector the need to ensure stringent action against them.
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Many took to social media to speak up against the custodial killing and demanded strict action against the perpetrators of the brutality under the hashtag #JusticeForJayrajAnFenix.?
Prominent members of the Kollywood circle such as director Karthik Subbaraj and singer Suchitra, have all released videos and posted tweets in the aftermath of the incident demanding urgent and appropriate action be taken against the cops.?
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Many even compared the killings to that of George Floyd in the US in May, that sparked worldwide outrage. Here's what people had to say on social media:?
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A petition has also been started to demand justice for the killings and it has?27,320 signatures so far.?
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Reports state that post mortem reports of the two deceased men have been submitted to the Madras High Court. Two sub-inspectors from Sathankulam Police station have been suspended and the station police inspector has been put on the waiting list.
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