CHENNAI: A special court on Monday (April 06) ordered the death penalty for all nine convicted cops in relation to the custodial deaths of the father-son duo in Sathankulam in 2020.
The convicts Sridhar, Raghuganesh, Murugan, Balakrishnan, Muthuraj, Chelladurai, Thoman Francis, Samudurai, and Veyilmuthu have been awarded the death penalty. Sridhar has also been awarded a Rs 15 lakh penalty.
The case pertains to the brutal custodial deaths that shocked the state and drew widespread public outrage. After a detailed trial and examination of evidence, the court found the accused guilty of the heinous crime.
On June 19, 2020, Jeyaraj (59) and his son Bennix (31) were picked up by the Sathankulam police on the allegation that they had kept their mobile phone shop open beyond the permissible hours during the lockdown. The duo were then allegedly subjected to brutal assault at the police station throughout the night and remanded to the sub-jail in Kovilpatti the following day.
The court accepted the CBI’s case that the victims were taken to Sathankulam police station, falsely implicated, and beaten through the night. Postmortem findings confirmed that the deaths were due to injuries caused by assault with sticks and rods, and not due to illness. The court pointed out that even though the father, Jayaraj, was suffering from lung issues and heart problems, he didn't die of any of those issues, clearly placing the blame on the torture inflicted under custody.
The court also noted that the accused attempted to fabricate records and obstruct the investigation.
(With inputs from Bureau)