TN govt to transfer probe into father-son’s custodial death to CBI

With outrage at the death of a father-son duo in the police custody at Tuticorin earlier this week gaining momentum, with thousands on social media comparing the incident to the death of George Floyd in the US, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that the state government will seek permission from the court to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the next hearing.

“We will seek permission from the Madurai bench of Madras High Court to transfer the Tuticorin custodial death case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the next hearing on June 30,” Palaniswami said.

 J. Jayaraj, 59, and Bennicks Immanuel, 31, were subjected to a brutal beating, which resulted in their death, according to a letter to government officials written by Jayaraj’s wife J. Selvarani. The letter seeks action against the police officers involved. Their only fault was: On 19 June, they had allegedly kept their mobile phone shop in the Sathankulam main bazaar area open during a curfew imposed during Covid-19 lockdown.

Jayaraju and Benicks were admitted to the Kovilpatti hospital on June 22. While the son died on the same night, the father breathed his last on June 23 morning. The Madurai bench of Madras High court ordered the magistrates to collect photographic records of entries and the CCTV footage of the dates that the father-son duo were at the sub-jail.

According to reports, two senior Inspectors have been suspended while departmental action is also being taken against two chief guards of the jail. The death of the duo had sparked protests across parts of Tamil Nadu with many people taking to the streets to demand justice and the incident triggering outrage on social media.

 With agency inputs