Tuticorin custodial deaths: CBI charges nine policemen for father-son duo death in Madurai

In a massive development in the Tuticorin custodial death case, Central Bureau of Investigation filed (CBI) On Saturday, filed a  charge sheet against 9 ex-policemen under relevant sections of IPC & substantive offences there of in the designated court at Madurai. The charge sheet includes former SHO of Sathankulam Police Station and one of the accused who succumbed to COVID-19 amid the investigation. A Thoothukudi father-son duo was allegedly thrashed in police custody, which led to their subsequent deaths within days.  

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CBI files chargesheet in Thoothukudi custodial deaths 
  

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The 7 member CBI team headed by SP Shukla took over from the Tamil Nadu CB-CID on July 9. Till date, 10 police personnel the Sathankulam police station where the father-son duo was allegedly thrashed - have been arrested, charged with murder and remanded to judicial custody. While five CBI officers have been infected with COVID-19, a 54-year-old accused Paul Durai succumbed to the virus. Apart from Durai two more accused cops were infected. The CBI had delayed in filing status report in the Madras High Court citing that the CBI team that probed actor Sushant Singh Rajput's forensic samples have to examine samples in this case too.

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What is the Tuticorin custodial death case?

P Jayaraj (59) and his son Bennicks (31) - residents of Tuticorin, were picked up for questioning by Sathankulam police on June 19 for violating lockdown rules. The duo was allegedly brutally beaten by the police in custody and then later released in a deteriorating health condition. Reports state that after sustaining severe injuries, both victims were shifted to the Kovilpatti government hospital where Benniks died on last Monday evening and Jayaraj, who was diabetic, succumbed to a respiratory illness on June 21.

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Moreover, hospital records state that both had multiple marks on the posterior's gluteal region, and Bennicks' knee caps were pressed, as per reports. The deceased's kin has claimed that both victims were subjected to excessive torture, verbal and physical humiliation in police custody, which has now been reportedly confirmed by the examining doctor. After a major outcry from politicians and citizens, Tamil Nadu CM E Palaniswamy handed over the case from the police to the CBI.

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