Kamal Haasan reacts to Sathankulam verdict, urges action against custodial cover-up

CHENNAI: Responding to the verdict in the Sathankulam custodial deaths case, actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan said the brutality by those entrusted with protecting the public was deeply disturbing and shook the conscience.

He lauded the families of Jeyaraj and Bennix, along with local residents, activists, and CBI officials, for relentlessly pursuing justice and establishing the crime with evidence.

Kamal Haasan reiterated his opposition to the death penalty, stating that those guilty of heinous crimes should instead face life imprisonment with hard labour, without any concessions.

Reflecting on the impact, he said, “I think of the families of the nine who have been awarded the death penalty. By engaging in such inhuman acts, how great a punishment have they inflicted on their own innocent families?”

He further called for action against doctors, officials, and authorities who allegedly attempted to cover up the truth. “My heart longs for punishment to be meted out to the doctor who certified without examining the grievously injured victims, the authority who ordered remand, the officials who tried to suppress the truth, and those in power who, without conscience, claimed the deaths were due to suffocation,” he wrote.

“Whoever commits crimes with the arrogance that power protects them, regardless of their influence, must be punished strictly by law. Atrocities committed against innocent people in the name of authority must be eradicated,” he added.

Madurai court on April 6 sentenced nine policemen, including Inspector Sridhar, to double death penalty in the custodial deaths of the father-son duo, also imposing fines and directing Rs 1.40 crore compensation to Bennix’s mother.