Four policemen have been arrested in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu for the death of two people in custody. A father and son were allegedly tortured by the police for keeping their shop open for 15 minutes more than schedule amid Corona lockdown. In the case, the Crime Branch of CID (Criminal Investigation Department) of Tamil Nadu has arrested Inspector Sridhar, Sub Inspectors Raghu Ganesh and Balakrishnan and Constable Murugan under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Inspector General of Police (CB-CID) said, "The FIR has been converted into section 302 of the IPC. The 12 special teams working under the IG and SP (CB-CID) are investigating all angles."
CBI-CID has revised both FIRs and significantly, the police had earlier registered only the case of suspicious deaths. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, which investigated the incident itself, had asked (CB-CID) to handle the matter until the case was handed over to the CBI from the Tuticorin police. On Tuesday, the court said that the post-mortem report is the base for accusing three policemen in the case of alleged death along with murder. The court was also told that CCTV footage related to the arrest and alleged torture of the two persons could have shed light on the incident at Sathankulam police station on June 19, but they were removed.
The court initiated contempt action against three more policemen, including a DSP and an additional DSP, after the judicial magistrate accused them of attempting to obstruct their investigation. However a key witness, a head constable, testified on the role of the police in this case. The court has asked the police to provide security in view of the possibility of intimidation of the witness or the family of the witness. There is outrage across the country about the case and earlier this week, the case was handed over to the CBI by Chief Minister Palaniswami.
Jayaraj, 59, and his son Beniks, 31, were arrested during the lockdown on June 19 for keeping their mobile phone shop opened longer than scheduled. Police claimed that the two fought, abused the police and protested the arrest. The family has alleged that the two men were tortured in police custody and there were many wounds on their body. There was bleeding from the rectum and there were also many internal wounds. It should be noted that Beniks was admitted to the hospital at 7.45 am on 22 June but later he died. His father was admitted at around 10.30 pm the same night and died at 5.40 am the next day.