After Nationwide Outrage, Five Cops Arrested For Custodial Killing Of Father, Son In Tamil Nadu

As the outrage continues around the country over the custodial killing of a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu, a total of policemen have been arrested in connection with the deaths.

AFP

Inspector Sridhar, Sub Inspector Bala Krishnan and head constable Murugan were arrested on Thursday morning by the CBCID, the special wing of Criminal Investigation Department, which took over the case on Wednesday. Another Sub-Inspector, Raghuganesh was already arrested by CBCID on Wednesday, while another Constable Muthuraj, who is not named in the FIR has also been taken into custody.

BCCL

According to the revised FIR the arrested policemen have been booked under Section 302 IPC. The CBCID was asked to take over the probe from the Thoothukudi Police by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, which conducted its own inquiry into the shocking incident.

As the news of the arrests broke, people who have been protesting demanding justice for the father-son due broke into celebrations, bursting crackers.

The five policemen all posted at the Sathankulam Police station are accused of custodial torture which led to the death of P Jayaraj and his son J Bennicks. It all began on June 19, when police arrested Jayaraj for keeping his mobile phone shop open beyond the lockdown curfew.

BCCL

Bennicks who went to inquire about his father was also arrested and the duo was allegedly tortured by the cops throughout the night, including sexually violating them.

After their health deteriorated, the duo was rushed to the Kovilpatti government hospital on June 22 where Bennicks died on the same night, while Jayraj breathed his last on the morning of June 23. Right from the start, the police were under fire for their high-handed approach and even trying to intimidate the magistrate who probed the incident.

AFP

While most of the cops at the Sathankulam station tried to mislead the probe and help their colleagues, a woman constable had come forward to testify against them. She is the only eye witness to the case so far. In her testimony, she stated that she saw bloodstains on the table and the lathis and confirmed that the father and son were tortured throughout the night.

The killing which came on the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement in the US, which was triggered by the police killing of a black man George Floyd, caused similar protests, mostly in Tamil Nadu, seeking an end to the culture of impunity enjoyed by the police in the country.