The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday responded to the Madurai court’s verdict in the death case of a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu, after the court sentenced nine police officers of Santankulam police station to death.
The ruling came nearly six years after P Jayaraj and his son J Penix were assaulted by convict cops at Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district, for allegedly keeping their mobile shop open in violation of coronavirus norms.
After widespread public outcry, the Madurai High Court bench took cognizance of the case, which was eventually investigated by the CBI.
The RBI said the case was referred to it by the Tamil Nadu government for a fair investigation.
“The case dates back to 19.06.2020, where the accused police officials of Santhankulam PS unjustly detained P.Jeyraj. His son Binix, who had gone to the police station to inquire why his father was detained, was also detained after some quarrels. Following this, the father and son were mercilessly beaten and brutally tortured by the accused police officials during the intervening night of June 19 and 20, 2020. Binix succumbed to his injuries in 22 and Chirag on June 23, and the case was transferred to the Central Bank of India for a fair investigation by the Tamil Nadu government.
The agency also added that after conducting a comprehensive investigation, it filed an indictment against nine defendants within 90 days.
Judgment
In a landmark judgement, a Madurai court on Monday awarded death penalty to nine police personnel in the 2020 custodial death case of Sattankulam.
First Additional District and Sessions Judge G Muthukumaran classified the case as the rare case, stating that those entrusted with protecting the public had committed a crime that had shaken the collective conscience of the society.
The court sentenced all nine convicted police personnel to death for the murder of Jayaraj and Benix.
Those convicted include former inspector S Sridhar, former sub-inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh, and chief constables Murugan and Samidurai.
In addition to the death penalty, the court imposed a combined fine of Rs $Rs 1.40 crore to be paid to the convicts, to be paid as compensation to the families of the victims.
While pronouncing the sentence, the judge said that the police are meant to protect the common man and when they become the perpetrators of such brutality, the law must act as a deterrent. She also pointed out that by killing the father and son at the same time, the police had uprooted the very foundation of the family.
The judge stressed that the punishment must be strict enough to ensure that such atrocities are not repeated.
The tragedy dates back to June 2020, when Jayaraj and Pinix were arrested for allegedly keeping their mobile shop open beyond the permissible business hours.
They were subjected to severe physical attacks during their detention, which led to their death in hospital days later.
A total of 105 witnesses were questioned over a period of five years. Among the first 10 accused, Special Assistant Inspector Buldurai died during the trial due to health complications.
