The hell they went through - direct words from Jayaraj's wife!

While, on one hand, the custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Bennicks in Tamil Nadu triggered immense outrage across the state and nation and among people of all walks of lives, on the other hand, the police brutality had devastated the hope of Jayaraj's family members as they have lost the breadwinners of the family and the back to back deaths of the father and duo had left the family with deep grief and pain which won't be remedied by solace and compensations.

As the voices grow in demanding the government to deliver justice to the victims by booking the responsible police officers under legal and appropriate grounds, the state went disheartened to witness the bereaving family as Jayaraj's wife Selvarani has, not only, grieving for the loss of her husband and son, but also left with more anxiety on moving the lives of her three daughters. Amid deep distress, she spoke to the media outlets on the loss and on how the police had thrashed her husband and her son, under the grounds that the duo had kept their shop open beyond the prescribed lockdown timings in Sathankulam, Thoothukudi district.

According to our reliable sources, Selvarani tremblingly has spoken and said "I was not informed. The police officers had taken my son from the shop and I reached the police station where I found that the station was locked and the police officers were beating my son inside the station and he loudly screamed after being intolerable to the torture and his voice was heard by the entire street. The police officers had also banished people and some of my son's friends who were standing before the police station".

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  File photo: Bennicks (right) with his three sisters

 

She states, "We begged the police to release them and we will treat them at the hospital. We dialed many authorities to seek help to rescue them. No one came for help. The police didn't permit us to provide food for my husband and son. We told them that my husband is a diabetic patient and he must be given medicines. However, they didn't let us meet them. The court has refused bail and the police didn't allow us to meet them at the hospital".

"One of our kinsmen went to the hospital and met my husband. My husband told him that the police neither has given food nor water to them. They have beaten and thrashed them on the floor. My husband said that the policemen brutally had beaten my son in front of him". She further states that "we tried to rescue them, however, we were informed about the back to back deaths of my husband and son. They were the breadwinners of our family. We don't have properties and they had carried out their businesses in rental spaces".

"We have four children - one son -Bennicks and three daughters. All three daughters have been married and we planned to conduct marriage for Bennicks in December 2020 and now, the police officers had beaten my husband and son to death and justice must be served for them". Bennick's elder sister Percy said, "My father and brother were roots for our family. On the day of detention, my brother called me around 7.50 pm and said the police had arrested our father. When I reached to him after some time, I was informed that my brother was also arrested by the police and they had beaten them throughout the night", she adds with a grieving face.

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The coffins of Jayaraj and Bennicks carried through the crowd in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu

 

Selvarani's demand for justice was the same tone and voice of the massive resentments against the police brutality, which alarmed the government on streamlining the use of power by police forces. The incident has sparked nationwide outrage urging the government to take action against the responsible police officers. According to the latest reports, the state government has suspended Sathankulam Police Inspector Sridhar, sub-inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh with the connection to the custodial deaths and rest of the police officers attached to the station have been transferred. 

On Monday, the state government said to the Madras High Court Madurai Bench, which took the case under suo motu cognizance, that the case would be transferred to the CBI and sought permission from the court on handing over the case to the Central agency for further investigations. The medical records had proven that the father and son duo had suffered multiple injuries in the police torture. However, the government is yet to ear the demand of people on filing an FIR against the police officers and is yet to admit as the custodial deaths.

 

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