The First Additional District and Sessions Court in Madurai will pronounce the judgment in the 2020 Sattankulam custodial deaths case of trader P. Jayaraj and his son J. Benicks on March 23. Judge G. Muthukumaran posted the matter for judgment.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a chargesheet on September 25, 2020 and a supplementary chargesheet on August 12, 2022. It filed the chargesheet against the then Inspector S. Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors P. Raghu Ganesh and K. Balakrishnan, head constables S. Murugan and A. Saamidurai, and constables M. Muthuraj, S. Chelladurai, X. Thomas Francis, and S. Veilumuthu. Special Sub-Inspector Pauldurai, an accused in the case, died after contracting COVID-19.
The CBI, in its chargesheet, said Jayaraj and his son Benicks were subjected to brutal torture by the policemen, knowing full well that it was sufficient to cause their deaths. During the investigation it was revealed that the traders had not violated COVID-19 lockdown rules, a charge on which the police had detained them. The CBI said the investigation revealed Jayaraj was picked up from his shop near the Kamaraj statue at 7.30 p.m. on June 19, 2020, and lodged at Sattankulam police station in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused.
