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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The death of two men, Jayaraj and his son Bennicks, in Tuticorin(Thoothukudi) has sparked massive outrage in Tamil Nadu, following allegations of police torture before sending them behind bars. As new shocking details come out about the horrifying brutality, people are taking to social media to demand a probe into custodial deaths and alleged police brutality. It has also snowballed into a major political row and has triggered calls for law enforcement.

P Jayaraj and his son Beniks were arrested on June 19 for keeping their mobile phone shop in Tuticorin open beyond permitted hours and died at a hospital four days later. The relatives alleged that they were severely thrashed and sodomised at the Sathankulam police station by police personnel.

Several prominent personalities like Shikhar Dhawan, Jayam Ravi, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha, condemned the police brutality and called for strict action against the perpetrators. Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who stays in America, took to Twitter to post her statement and asked for the guilty to be punished.

“Reeling from what I am hearing. Absolutely stunned, sad, and angry. No human being deserves such brutality, whatever be their crime,” said Priyanka. She went on to urge people to use their collective voice to seek justice for the deceased.

“Sending strength and prayers. We need to use our collective voices to seek #JusticeForJayarajandBennicks,” her statement further read.

#JusticeForJayarajandBennicks pic.twitter.com/vGi8m63If2

— PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) June 26, 2020

Prominent celebrities in South India such as director Karthik Subbaraj and singer Suchitra have released videos and posted tweets in the aftermath of incident demanding urgent and appropriate action the police officials involved. Their pleas quickly caught media attention and #JusticeForJayarajandBennix started trending in Twitter.

https://twitter.com/suchi_mirchi/status/1276218996602228737?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1276218996602228737%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.republicworld.com%2Findia-news%2Flaw-and-order%2Fthoothukdi-justiceforjayarajandfenix-custody-death-tamil-nadu.html

Following the outrage and widespread protests in the city, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court ordered the postmortem procedure to be videographed. Having reportedly suspended both the police involved, the court also initiated a suo-moto inquiry into the case.

The post Priyanka Chopra condemns alleged police brutality in Tuticorin appeared first on The Gulf Indians.