Custodial deaths spark national ire, no FIR yet

CHENNAI: The custodial deaths of P Jayaraj and his son J Beniks dominated the social media on Friday, with people complaining about police brutality during Covid curfew and comparing the incident to the death of George Floyd in the United States.

The state government is yet to act against those responsible for the assault on the two men. No FIR has been registered against the police personnel who allegedly tortured the father-son duo for violating Covid curfew in Sathankulam, the government doctor who certified them as "fit" for custody, the magistrate who remanded them in custody and the jail personnel who admitted them with bleeding injuries.



Earlier this month, the Sathankulam police was accused of killing a man who was picked up for questioning. Similarly, the police at Kayalpattinam, which also falls in Tuticorin district, are accused of damaging a curfew violator’s kidneys.




Hundreds of thousands of tweets were sent out using the hashtag #JusticeforJayarajandBennix, that was among the top Twitter topics trending in India on Friday and among the top 30 trending globally, with celebrities, sportspersons and politicians condemning the police action.

“The George Floyds of India are far too many,” tweeted Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani. Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan took to social media to demand justice for the father-son duo.








Meanwhile, even 24 hours after the postmortem, the nature of injuries inflicted on Jayaraj and Beniks by the police is yet to be revealed.

The FIR filed by the police claims the injuries were self-inflicted; that the two men rolled on the ground to hurt themselves.

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court, which had taken suo motu note of the custodial deaths and called for a report, has now asked the government to provide yoga and psychological counselling sessions for cops stressed because of the pandemic.

The state government said it would comply with the court orders, which are awaited.