Chennai: As an attempt at delayed damage control exercise, The Tamil Nadu government has decided to transfer the probe into the custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Bennix, the Sathankulam father-son duo, to the Central Bureau of Investigation said TN Chief Minister K Palaniswami, on Sunday.
Chennai: As an attempt at delayed damage control exercise, The Tamil Nadu government has decided to transfer the probe into the custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Bennix, the Sathankulam father-son duo, to the Central Bureau of Investigation said TN Chief Minister K Palaniswami, on Sunday.
Jayaraj and his son Bennix were arrested by the Sathankulam police on the evening of June 19 for allegedly keeping their shop open, violating lockdown regulations. While Jayaraj was first taken to the police station first, Bennix soon went there to enquire about his father. Friends and family who are outside the police station have said that the duo were beaten up mercilessly inside the police station and hear them screaming. The case caused a national outrage after it was revealed that the police had inflicted unspeakable torture on the father and son.
The government has come under much criticism for not directing the police department to file an FIR against sub inspectors Balakrishnan, Raghuganesh and Inspector Sridhar who have been accused by multiple witnesses of torturing the two men who were arrested.
“The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has taken suo-motu cognisance of this case. The Tamil Nadu government has decided that CBI should investigate this case. When this case comes for hearing in the court, we will take permission from the bench and hand over the case to the CBI,” TN CM Palaniswami said when he spoke to the media in Salem on June 28.
It is to be noted it is not just the role of police that has come under the scanner. The doctor who gave their fitness certificates and the magistrate who remanded them to custody have also come under much criticism and there have been many demands that they too must be investigated.
Speaking to the media after the Chief Minister’s announcement, the family of the deceased father and son, stated that they will first wait for the court’s pronouncements on Tuesday regarding the case before commenting any further on the matter.
Worthy of mention are the cases, the probes of which were transferred to CBI after public furore, that are yet to see the light of the day. The Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case which was hastily transferred to CBI after a huge outcry is in a state of stagnant slumber. Another classic example of CBI inaction cited by many is the Thoothukudi Sterlite firing case where cops who opened fire on unsuspecting public are yet to be identified. The Sekar Reddy scandal and Gutkha scam are a couple more instances where CBI is yet to move an inch, opine many human rights activists.