The Central Bureau of Investigation, in its chargesheet related to the custodial deaths of a father and son in Tamil Nadu in June, said that the two were tortured by the police for more than seven hours, NDTV reported on Tuesday.
The chargesheet also stated that Jayaraj and his son Bennix were beaten so badly that blood was splattered on the walls. They were made to clean the blood with their clothes. The CBI added that the two were made to suffer “several rounds of brutal torture with intervals in between 7.45 pm and 3 am”.
The CBI submitted a report titled “Results of Laboratory Analysis” to the Madras High Court, according to India Today. It said that the DNA samples collected from the Sathankulam police station matched those of the father and son.
“That deceased Benniks and Jeyaraj were subjected to brutal torture by the accused police officials on the evening of 19.06.2020 and intervening night of 19-20.06.2020 in the Police Station Sathankulam, stands established,” the CBI said, citing experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Delhi.
The CBI also said that the torture endured by the father and son “was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause their death”.
The investigation agency said that they were beaten up with sticks, according to NDTV. It added that the police discarded bloodstained clothes and destroyed other evidence. The post mortem examination report said that they died of blunt injuries.
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Ten policemen were arrested in the case. One of them died due to the coronavirus in August.
The Madras High Court had observed in July that there was ample evidence to charge the policemen involved in the custodial deaths with murder. The court had said that the postmortem examination reports of the two men showed that they had suffered grievous injuries.
Jayaraj and his son Bennix were taken into custody on June 19 for questioning as they had kept their mobile accessories shop open outside permitted hours during the lockdown to contain the coronavirus in Thoothukudi district. They were later sent to the Kovilpatti sub-jail. On June 22, Bennix complained of breathing problems and was admitted to a local government-run hospital. He later died at the facility. His father died the next day.
The custodial deaths had triggered massive public outrage. The state government had transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation after approval from the Madras High Court on June 29.
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