New Delhi: The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) arrested sub-inspector Raghu Ganesh, the first of the four persons booked under the custodial murder charge of trader Jayaraj and his son Bennix in Sathankulam of Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin, on Wednesday night. The other three police officers charged – sub-inspector Balakrishnan and constables Murugan and Murhuraj – were arrested on Thursday morning.
The investigation into the matter was initiated following strong observations made by the Madurai bench of the Madras high court. All accused have been booked under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for murder. Soon after the killings, the police had termed it as a case of “suspicious death” and completed the formalities under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Jayaraj and Bennix were brutalised by the police for allegedly violating lockdown rules imposed by the Tamil Nadu government. They were allegedly mercilessly beaten by the accused policemen on June 18, and on June 23 they died in a hospital. The police had tried to cover the incident up by claiming that the deceased person had inflicted injuries on themselves by rolling on the floor. The accused policemen had also claimed that the victims had hurled abuses at them. Several eyewitnesses and the victims’ lawyers, however, have denied these allegations and claimed that the policemen were only trying to save their skin by making up these stories.
Also read: Justice for Jayaraj and Bennix Means Ending a Culture of Impunity
According to a report in The Hindu, over 10 teams were assisting the DSP Anilkumar, who has been entrusted with the investigation. Over 40 personnel, including two more DSPs and 11 inspectors, had fanned out to different parts of the district to nab the policemen.
Following nationwide outrage, the Tamil Nadu government had set up a judicial magistrate’s inquiry into the matter. The inquiry, although mandatory under section 176 (1A) of the CrPC, is rarely followed. Kovilpatti Judicial Magistrate-1 M.S. Bharathidasan was appointed to conduct the inquiry and The Hindu report stated that the magistrate continued his inquiry at Tiruchendur Government Guest House where he recorded the statements of a good number of witnesses, including the doctor of Sattankulam Government Hospital Vinila.
Over a week after their murder, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) too stepped in. The commission, on July 1, issued notices to the DGP of Tamil Nadu and SP of Thoothukudi district in the southern state seeking explanation in the father-son duo’s alleged torture and murder.
Press Trust of India reports that the commission has sought a report from the police officers, which has to “include inquest report, post-mortem examination report, medical treatment record, magisterial inquiry report and health screening report of both victims, within 6 weeks”.
