Taking note of the non-cooperation on the part of Sathankulam police station in Tamil Nadu father-son duo custodial death case, Madras High Court has directed Tuticorin district collector to appoint revenue officials to take control of the Sathankulam police station.
Madras HC bench comprising of Justice PN Prakash and Justice Pugazhendhi passed the orders after Tuticorin district judge informed the bench that police is not cooperating in the Kovilpatti judicial magistrate (JM) inquiry. He has been monitoring the case very closely.
Besides telling Tuticorin district collector to depute revenue officials to take control of the police station, the court has also directed the forensic department assistant director to send a forensic team to collect and preserve the evidences.
High Court has taken the suo moto cognizance of the matter and is closely monitoring the case. The case has been adjourned for two weeks.
High Court was earlier approached by the Tamil Nadu government seeking permission for transferring the probe to CBI. However, the bench has stated that it won’t interfere in the state decision and the state government doesn’t require the court’s permission to transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Sixty-year-old Jayaraj and thirty years old son Bennix was arrested by Tamil Nadu police for violating lockdown rules as they kept their shop open a little longer. They died in the police custody alleged of facing custodial torture by the police. The son Bennix passed away on June 22, and father Jayaraj also lost his life few hours later on June 23.
