Nine policemen have been sentenced to death by a court in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district in connection with the six-year-old Jayaraj-Benicks custodial death case. The policemen were identified as Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh and Constables Murugan, Samadurai, Muthuraja, Chelladurai, Thomas Francis and Veilumuthu.
While pronouncing the death sentence on the nine policemen, the district noted that “the heart trembles to read about the case,” an NDTV report said.
The court highlighted the “case of abuse of power” and mentioned that the verdict will not cause fear among police officers as there are many honest police officers in the force. “Father and son undressed, mercilessly attacked… It is heart-wrenching to read about,” the court said.
The custodial death case dates back to June 2020, when a father-son duo – P Jayaraj and his son J Bennicks – were arrested for allegedly keeping their shop open outside permitted hours during the lockdown. They were sent to judicial custody, but the pair died a few days later.
Earlier, Madurai First Additional District Court Judge Muthukumaran had earlier reserved the sentencing order after hearing intensive arguments from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the defense and emotional appeals by the victims’ family members.
All the accused were brought before a judge.
Terming the brutal custodial torture and subsequent death of businessmen P Jayaraj and his son J Bennicks as “the rarest of rare” cases, the CBI counsel sought the maximum sentence of death or life without parole.
The prosecution argued that the nature of the crime, supported by the testimony of three direct eyewitnesses, shocked the collective conscience of society. The CBI also highlighted serious human rights violations.
The investigating agency also noted that the victims were subjected to merciless beatings with weapons, which warranted the highest degree of punishment.
Sathankulam custodial death case
On 19 June 2020, Jayaraj and Bennicks were arrested and taken into custody by Sathankulam police in Thoothukudi district for allegedly violating Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Both succumbed to severe injuries sustained during brutal police torture, sparking widespread national outrage. Their relatives claimed that both were beaten and tortured throughout the night.
The CBI took over the investigation and filed a 2,027-page charge sheet. The police also filed a 400-page supplementary charge sheet. Over 100 witnesses were heard during the trial, which lasted more than five years. Today, April 6, nine policemen were sentenced to death.
