CHENNAI: A team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to arrive in Madurai on Friday to take over the investigations into the Jayaraj-Bennix custodial death case in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin.
The CBI counsel informed the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court regarding the same. The CBI counsel also added that the agency had sought all necessary facilities from the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary for the investigation of the case.
The case of alleged custodial deaths of the father-son duo, which was taken up suo-motu by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, came up for hearing on Thursday.
During the hearing, the court instructed either the CBI or the CB-CID to proceed with the formalities, file a plea to conduct the custodial interrogation of the arrested police personnel within 15 days of their being arrested.
The CBI counsel responded by informing Justice Sathyanarayanan and Rajamanickam that a team of 7 CBI officers from Delhi would reach Madurai on Friday.
So far, the CB-CID which handled the case, as per the court’s orders, has arrested 10 police personnel from the Sathankulam Police Station, where the alleged custodial torture had taken place.
The CB-CID counsel has informed the court that a petition has been filed to take them under police custody. The CBI counsel also added that evidence had been collected from the Sathankulam Police station, the sub-jail and the hospital where the father-son duo spent their final days.
The court also ordered the CBI and CB-CID to file their respective status reports in a sealed cover before the next hearing, which is scheduled for 28th July.
The CB-CID has so far arrested five policemen, including an Inspector, in connection with the alleged custodial torture of P Jayaraj and his son Bennix at Sathankulam police station.
It has questioned several policemen in connection with the case.
The duo, who ran a cellphone shop, was arrested on June 19 for alleged violation of prohibitory orders. Bennix died on June 22 and Jeyaraj the next day at a hospital due to alleged police brutality, leading to a nationwide outrage.
