A court in Madurai sentenced nine policemen to death for the brutal custodial torture and killing of a father-son duo in Thoothukudi. The shocking case, which outraged the nation, was termed “rarest of rare” due to its extreme brutality and abuse of power.
A court in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, has sentenced nine policemen to death in the shocking custodial death case of trader P Jayaraj and his son J Benicks from Thoothukudi. The case, which happened six years ago, had created massive outrage across India and raised serious concerns about police brutality and human rights violations.
The convicted policemen include Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh, along with police personnel Murugan, Samadurai, Muthuraja, Chelladurai, Thomas Francis, and Veilumuthu. The court, while delivering its judgment, made strong remarks against the accused and highlighted the misuse of power by law enforcement officials.
The court clearly stated that this was a “case of abuse of authority” and stressed that such actions cannot be justified under any circumstances. At the same time, it clarified that Tamil Nadu has many sincere and honest police officers, and that this judgment will not “instill fear among police”.
Describing the brutality of the incident, the court said,
“Father and son stripped, ruthlessly assaulted… Heart shudders reading about it,”
showing deep concern over the inhuman treatment faced by the victims. In its detailed observations, the court further said that the victims were
“stripped and ruthlessly assaulted in front of each other as an act of vendetta,” and again added that “the heart shudders on reading about it.”
The court also rejected any justification based on work pressure or stress, stating firmly that
“those who receive public money as salary cannot cite stress as a reason”
for committing such serious crimes. It further noted that without strict supervision by the Madras High Court, the truth might never have come out, observing that
“the truth would have been buried.”
This case dates back to June 19, 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. Jayaraj and Benicks, who owned a mobile shop, were arrested for allegedly keeping their shop open beyond permitted hours. However, this allegation was later found to be false. They were taken to the Sathankulam police station and later sent to judicial custody. Within a few days, both father and son died.
Their family members had accused the police of brutally assaulting them overnight inside the police station. Reports suggested severe injuries, including rectal bleeding and other signs of extreme torture, which pointed towards custodial violence.
Due to the seriousness of the case, the investigation was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Madras High Court. The agency arrested 10 policemen and filed charges of murder against them.
During the investigation, a woman constable gave an important statement, revealing that both victims were assaulted throughout the night and that there were visible blood stains on tables and lathis inside the police station. Investigators also faced difficulties as crucial CCTV footage from the station was not available, reportedly because the recordings were automatically deleted every day and were not preserved.
The trial continued for over five years, during which more than 100 witnesses were examined. The prosecution, led by the CBI, argued that the crime was extremely brutal and fell under the “rarest of rare” category. It demanded the highest punishment, either death penalty or life imprisonment without parole, stating that the nature of the crime had shocked the collective conscience of society.
The court, agreeing with the seriousness of the offence and the evidence presented, ultimately awarded the death sentence to nine of the accused policemen, marking one of the strongest judicial responses to custodial violence in recent years.
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