In a fresh twist to the Tuticorin case, the judicial magistrate has submitted in his report to the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court that CCTV visuals of the ‘interrogation’ of the father-son(Jayaraj and Bennicks) duo, who later died in custody, were erased despite there being ample space in the hard disk. The case has now been transferred to the CB-CID till the CBI takes over to ensure there is no tampering of evidences.

In his report, the Kovilpatti judicial magistrate said that though the hard disks of the cameras installed at the police station had 1TB storage capacity, the data was being erased automatically. “Specifically, the footage after the day of the incident was missing,” said the report.

The judicial magistrate’s report said a woman constable, who was an eye witness to the incident, was initially terrified to reveal the truth but then confirmed that the victims were “repeatedly thrashed by the policemen for the entire night”. The report added that blood stains were visible on the lathis and table inside the station.

Hearing the suo motu petition, the bench comprising justices PN Prakash and B Pugalendhi said the injuries found on the bodies of the deceased and the statements in the judicial magistrate’s report — especially the statement of the woman constable — were enough to alter the case to include Section 302 (for murder) against the Sathankulam policemen. The district collector has been ordered by the court to provide protection to the constable.

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The probe into the alleged custodial killings of a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin is all set to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Madras High Court, which is hearing the case after taking suo moto cognisance, on June 29 said that it doesn’t have any objection with nor will it interfere with the state government’s decision in this regard.

On Tamil Nadu government’s appeal seeking permission to shift the Thoothukudi custodial death case of father-son to CBI, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court said they don’t have any objection and will not interfere with the decision of the state government.

Notably, the development comes a day after Chief Minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswami, who oversees the police department and has come under fire over the incident, announced that the state government would transfer the probe to the CBI after getting permission from the Madurai bench of the High Court, in the next hearing on June 30.

The issue pertains to the death of 59-year-old Jayaraj and his 31-year-old son Bennicks, who died within days of being released from police custody after being arrested on June 19 for opening their mobile shop open beyond permissible business hours due to the coronavirus lockdown.

However, it was later alleged that while in custody, the two were subjected to torture, and even sexual assault, and died as a result of the injuries they sustained. The incident has triggered massive outrage across the state.

The state government has suspended four policemen, including two sub-inspectors. It has also announced a monetary compensation for the bereaved family.

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Joining the growing list of film industry names to have spoken out against the custodial torture and death of Jayaraj and Bennicks in Tuticorin(Thoothukudi) district, filmmaker Hari, who directed several hit cop-centric films, released a statement expressing anguish and hurt at the turn of events.

The man who created the highly successful Singam film franchise, and the Vikram-starrer Saamy and its sequel, said in a statement that he wished for such an incident would not repeat.

“An incident like what happened in Sathankulam should not happen ever again to Tamils. The only way to ensure that is to give maximum punishment to those guilty of the crime,” the filmmaker said in a handwritten note that was released via social media platforms.

Director Hari regrets making five films which glorified the police force in his career. He says Tamil Nadu people shouldn't be subjected to another cruel incident like the one that happened in #Sathankulam.#JusticeForJayarajandBennicks #DirectorHari pic.twitter.com/whYYzfxos8

— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) June 28, 2020

“Such actions by a few cops have brought disrepute to the entire police department. Today, I feel deeply hurt that I made five films glorifying the police department,” Hari wrote, expressing his regret.

Actor Suriya, who is the face of the Singam franchise in Tamil also released a statement of condemnation in which he labelled the incident “organised crime”. He pointed out that the doctor who gave a clean bill of health, the district magistrate who “mechanically” remanded the duo to custody and prison officials who did not report the incident were all equally culpable.

’நீதி நிலைநிறுத்தப்படும்’ என்று நம்புவோம். #JusticeForJayarajandBennicks pic.twitter.com/oAgZbZVe9h

— Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) June 27, 2020

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