In a landmark judgement, the honourable First Additional District and Sessions Judge of Madurai, G Muthukumaran pronounced death penalty for all nine policemen in the Jeyaraj and Beniks custodial torture and death case.   
  
Inspector S Sridhar, sub-inspectors P Ragu Ganesh & K Balakrishnan, head constables S Murugan and A Samidurai and constables M Muthuraja, S Veil Muthu, S Chelladurai & X Thomas Francis have all been found guilty of the double murder.   
  
On 19th June 2020, Jeyaraj went to his son’s mobile shop in at Sathankulam in Thoothukudi. Police arrested him for violating Covid rules.   
  
Following the father’s arrest, Beniks went to the police station and requested for his father’s release. Beniks apparently had an argument with the cops. They arrested him also and tortured him and his father through the night and later sent to judicial remand.   
  
Beniks died at Kovilapatti Government Hospital on 22nd June, 2020, and Jeyaraj passed away the next day.   
  
The investigation later revealed that the mobile shop wasn’t open beyond the permissible hours. Basically a false case was slapped.   
  
Later, a female constable, Revathi came forward to tell the truth of their torture. Not only were the son & the father beaten brutally throughout the night but were also made to clean up their blood off the police station floor and walls with their clothes.   
  
Beniks sustained 13 external injuries and Jeyaraj had 17 wounds that ultimately led to their deaths. They were bleeding from their rectums when they were sent to jail!!!   
  
Following a huge social media uproar and protests, there was pressure on the then Tamil Nadu government to conduct a fair investigation into their deaths.   
  
If you go through the whole case, you will realise that 59 year old Jeyraj and 31 year old Beniks were killed purely because the ego of the policemen was hurt.   
  
They were angry that Beniks questioned why his father was arrested and being beaten up.   
  
Family of the victims hope this will be a lesson to all policemen who think they can get away with any crime.   
  
But unfortunately in our country most police don’t play by the rules. It is either their ego or orders from above or corruption that drives them. Hoping for better policing and a system that stands for victims, especially the voiceless ones.

Source: [https://www.ndtv.com/video/9-tamil-nadu-cops-get-death-sentence-in-father-son-custodial-torture-case-1081340](https://www.ndtv.com/video/9-tamil-nadu-cops-get-death-sentence-in-father-son-custodial-torture-case-1081340)  


Nine policemen in India found guilty of murdering father and son in custody