Tamil Nadu father-son duo, Bennix and Jayaraj were tortured and beaten for over eight hours by Sathankulam policemen with intervals between 7:45 pm – 3 am, the CBI forensic report submitted to Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court read. The report comes three months after the custodial death of duo on June 19. The death had caused nationwide outrage over the police atrocities in the state.
The agency further produced reports from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in New Delhi to prove that the police thrashed the victims so brutally that it left bloodstains on the floors, walls and the lathis of police officers at the Sathankulam station, reported The News Minute.
The media accessed a part of the chargesheet submitted by the CBI that detailed the brutality the duo went through with over 18 injuries on their bodies.
According to the report, DNA samples collected from the walls of the lockup, toilet, room of the SHO in the police station and from the lathis of the policemen matched to that of the victims.
Hence, the evidence collected established that Jayaraj and Bennix ‘were subjected to brutal torture by the accused police officials who deliberately inflicted severe wounds on them, knowing well that the injuries were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause their death.’
According to the chargesheet, Jayaraj was picked up first by Sub-Inspector Balakrishnan, Inspector S Sridhar, Police Constable M Muthuraja and other officials from Kamarajar Chowk in the evening. Upon hearing about this, Bennix reportedly rushed to the station and questioned the illegal confinement.
When Bennix questioned the reason behind bringing his father to the station and objected to the brutality with which his father was treated, the SI took offence and heckled Bennix, and later was wrongfully confined in the station. SI, along with other officers, started beating Bennix for hours.
‘Not only this, their clothes were removed to add to the brutality of the torture. Both Jayaraj and Bennix, turn by turn, were made to bow down on a wooden table in underwear only, their hands and legs were caught hold by accused police officials so that they were not able to defend themselves. While holding them in that position, they were subjected to severe beatings with a lathi on their buttocks, back and other parts of the body,’ the report added.
Jayaraj, as per the document, begged the police to stop, given his comorbid condition. The victims were asked to wipe their blood off the floors with their clothes.
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