Kochi: Nine policemen were sentenced to death by a court in Madurai in Tamil Nadu for custodial death of a trader P Jayaraj and his son J Benicks in Thoothukudi district.
Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh, and policemen Murugan, Samadurai, Muthuraja, Chelladurai, Thomas Francis, and Veilumuthu were sent to gallows, NDTV reported.
Observing that this was a “case of abuse of authority”, the court maintained that there are many honest police officers in Tamil Nadu and that the ruling will not “instill fear among police”.
The CBI had prayed for the maximum sentence without parole. The CBI said that the victims were subjected to merciless beatings with weapons, warranting the highest degree of punishment.
The police arrested the deceased
Jayaraj and Benicks for keeping their mobile shop open beyond permitted hours during the lockdown on June 19, 2020.
The two were taken to the Sathankulam police station and later remanded to judicial custody.
The CBI took over the probe from the state’s CB-CID following directions from the Madras High Court.
CBI arrested 10 policemen in connection with the case.
A woman constable reportedly told investigators that the father and son were assaulted overnight and that there were blood stains on tables and lathis at the station.
Over 100 witnesses were examined during the trial, which spanned more than five years.
Court awards death to 9 cops
