Nine Tamil Nadu cops get death penalty in Sathankulam custodial deaths case
Nine Tamil Nadu cops get death penalty in Sathankulam custodial deaths case
Tamil Nadu court sentences nine police officers to death for torturing a father and son during the Covid lockdown, sparking national outrage and calls for police reform.
A court in Tamil Nadu has handed down the death penalty to nine police officers in the custodial deaths of P Jayaraj, 58, a trader, and his son J Bennix, 31, during the Covid-19 lockdown. The ruling places the case in the rarest of the rare category, with the judge describing the act as deliberate and a grave abuse of power. The police officers were accused of abusing their authority after arresting the father and son for allegedly keeping a mobile phone shop open beyond permitted hours, an accusation investigators later said was unfounded.
The killings occurred at the Sathankulam police station, where the father and son were reportedly stripped and tortured through the night, sometimes in front of each other. The court found the violence was not incidental but a deliberate act of retribution, insisting that the offenders attacked unarmed men and should not be forgiven due to age or background. Evidence suggested the victims were subjected to brutal beatings and that attempts were made to cover up the crime, including forcing them to clean their own blood and destroying material evidence.
Following pressure from the public and a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the case was brought to trial and delivered nearly six years after the incident. The CBI concluded that the officers inflicted injuries severe enough to cause death and acted with the intent to teach them a lesson on how to behave with the police. The verdict has intensified debates about police accountability and judicial response to custodial violence in India, underscoring the ongoing demand for reforms in policing practices and accountability mechanisms.
The rare death-penalty ruling signals a stark stance by the judiciary on custodial abuse, but it also leaves open questions about systemic reforms and the broader implications for policing in Tamil Nadu and the country. Advocates for reform say this verdict must be a stepping stone toward stronger oversight, better training, and clearer rules to prevent such abuses in the future.
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