JUNE 29, 2020
In a major development in the Tuticorin custodial torture and death case, CCTV footage has surfaced that exposes the web of lies that the Tamil Nadu Police has woven around this case so far. The CCTV footage, accessed by India Today TV, is of the moment when the father-son duo (Jeyeraj and Bennicks) were arrested from their shop.
The visuals of the CCTV footage militate against the sequence of events mentioned by the police in the FIR. In the FIR, the police have claimed that Jeyeraj and Bennicks were arrested because they kept their shop open beyond permissible hours during the lockdown.
Besides this, the police alleged that a large crowd had gathered outside their shop during the lockdown. The FIR states that the cops asked the crowd to leave, and while others left, Jeyeraj and Bennicks stayed there. Among other allegations, the FIR claims that the father-son hurled death abuses at the cops.
However, the CCTV footage from outside the two’s mobile accessories shop (from where they were arrested) shows that there was no crowd there. It also does not show any altercation before the arrest, as alleged by the police in the FIR.
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In the FIR, the police also said the father-son duo resisted arrest and started rolling on the floor on being arrested.
But, contrary to this, the CCTV footage shows that the duo never resisted arrest and did not roll on the floor.
The father-son duo died at a hospital in Kovilpatti on June 23, with their relatives alleging they were severely thrashed and sexually assaulted at Sathankulam police station by police personnel.
The incident has triggered a national furore, leading to the suspension of five policemen, including an inspector and two sub-inspectors.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to transfer the probe into the Tuticorin custodial death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The inspector of Sathankulam police station where the duo was allegedly thrashed, has been suspended and replaced with a new official in his place, police said in Tuticorin.
The Opposition DMK said the chief minister had ordered for a CBI probe due to “intense pressure” from people and political parties, besides the media.
Courtesy/Source: India Today / PTI
