4 Days To Death, 6 Years To Justice: Inside The Tamil Nadu Custodial Killings

On June 19, 2020, the small trading town of Sathankulam in Tamil Nadu saw shutters closing in what was the end of another ordinary day. By nightfall, a man and his son had been taken into police custody. Within four days, both would be dead. Six years later, in a courtroom in Madurai district, that sequence of events returned with a court sentencing that saw nine policemen being given death sentences for their role in what it described as a case of extreme custodial brutality.

The convicted include Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh, and police personnel Murugan, Samadurai, Muthuraja, Chelladurai, Thomas Francis, and Veilumuthu. The court, while pronouncing the sentence, termed it an abuse of authority. It also added that many police officers in the state serve with integrity, and that the ruling was intended to instil fear among others.

"Father and son stripped, ruthlessly assaulted... Heart shudders reading about it," the court said.

The Night Of Arrest

31-year-old J Benicks ran a mobile phone shop near the Kamarajar statue in Sathankulam, which is in Thoothukudi district -- roughly 600 km from Chennai. Around 8 pm, Bennix was told that his father P Jayaraj had been picked up by the police. Jayaraj had reportedly been taken to the Sathankulam police station in connection with an alleged altercation the previous day near his woodworks shop.

Concerned, Benicks went to the police station. According to multiple eyewitnesses, he was initially made to wait outside. When he was eventually called in, he questioned why his father had been assaulted. That question, witnesses say, marked the beginning of his own ordeal.

Friends who had accompanied Benicks were not allowed inside. They remained outside the station through the night, unable to see either man.

According to the FIR, Jayaraj and Benicks were found violating COVID-19 lockdown restrictions by keeping their shop open beyond permitted hours. When asked to disperse, the police claimed, the two verbally abused officers, sat on the ground, and rolled around, sustaining injuries in the process. The FIR further alleged that the two threatened to kill the policemen.

But this version would later be contested on multiple fronts. Eyewitnesses said the father and son were not brought to the station together. They also described escalating violence inside the station as the night progressed.

Several accounts pointed to the arrival of Sub-Inspector Raghu Ganesh around 11.30 pm, after which, witnesses said, the intensity of the assault increased. Police volunteers (Friends of Police)  present at the station were also alleged to have participated.

Outside, those waiting reported hearing shouts from inside.

Allegations Of Torture

Jayaraj's daughter, Percy, told the press that her father had been pushed to the floor and beaten. When Benicks intervened, he too was assaulted. According to her, both men were locked inside and beaten for nearly two hours.

A lawyer representing the family later said the injuries were so severe that the men had to change multiple garments due to bleeding.

These claims were later reinforced by the testimony of a woman constable, who told investigators that the assault had continued through the night. She described blood stains on tables and on lathis inside the station.

The CBI, which took over the probe from the state's CB-CID following directions from the Madras High Court, would later argue that the victims were subjected to sustained and merciless beatings using weapons.

Among the most disturbing allegations were those relating to sexual violence. Family members alleged that Benicks had been sexually assaulted. While investigators urged caution pending medical reports, the allegation became central to public outrage.

The Question Of Remand

On June 20, the police said they took both men for a medical fitness test and then produced them before a judicial magistrate.

The magistrate was accused of passing remand orders without adequately examining the physical condition of the two men, as required by law.

From Sathankulam, the father and son were transported to the Kovilpatti sub-jail, nearly 100 kilometres away despite the availability of a closer district jail in Perurani.

Death In Custody

On the night of June 22, Benicks complained of chest pain while in custody. He was taken to the Kovilpatti Government Hospital, where he died.

In the early hours of June 23, Jayaraj also died in the same hospital.

The official explanation cited medical complications.

Public Outrage And Political Pressure

In Sathankulam, shopkeepers shut down their businesses in protest. Demonstrations were held, with calls for accountability growing louder.

Across Tamil Nadu, commercial establishments closed shop in solidarity.

On social media, the case gained national and international attention. Comparisons were drawn with the death of George Floyd in the United States, with some commentators arguing that custodial violence in India had long been underreported.

Two sub-inspectors were suspended, and Inspector Sridhar was transferred. The Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police stated that action had been initiated against certain constables.

Judicial Intervention

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court took the case on its own, stepping in to monitor the investigation.

A bench comprising Justices PM Prakash and B Pugalendhi ordered a detailed inquiry and mandated that the postmortem be conducted by a team of three doctors. Crucially, the court directed that the autopsy be videographed.

It also ordered the preservation of key evidence including CCTV footage from the police station and jail records.

The case was eventually handed over to the CBI which arrested 10 policemen, including an inspector, two sub-inspectors and several constables.

After more than five years of proceedings, the court agreed. Terming the case "rarest of rare," it sentenced nine policemen to death.