Father, son die after being 'tortured' in police custody in Tamil Nadu

Tension gripped the Sathankulam town in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district on Tuesday after a father-son duo, who were allegedly tortured while in police custody for two days, died within hours of each other.

60-year-old P Jeyaraj and his son 31-year-old Fenix were taken into custody by police on June 19 over an argument after they kept their mobile phone shop open beyond the permissible time of 9 pm. Two days later, they were shifted to Kovilpatti sub-jail in the district from where they were shifted to the Government Hospital after their health worsened.

While the son died on Monday night, the father breathed his last around 8 am on Tuesday. Relatives, family members and traders in the town alleged that police mercilessly beat up the father-son duo on June 19 before taking them into custody following the argument.

They also alleged that the two were subjected to torture while in police custody. Traders said the son was shifted to the hospital on Monday evening following bleeding, while the father was rushed to the hospital after he developed respiratory problems.

While police said that previous medical conditions were responsible for the deaths of the father-son duo, relatives and traders came onto the streets in Sathankulam and protested against the "custodial deaths". They demanded immediate action against police officers involved in the incident.

The protest was called off only after District Collector Sandeep Nanduri gave an assurance that action would be taken against the policemen. Two sub-inspectors of the Sathankulam police station were placed under suspension.

Local media reported that the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has ordered that the post-mortem proceedings of the father-son duo be video recorded. Opposition Leader M K Stalin, his half-sister and Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi, AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran, and other political party leaders condemned the incident and demanded answers from the government.

The Tamil Nadu Traders Association, while condoling the death of the traders in Sathankulam, announced that shops in the state will remain closed on June 24 as a mark of protest against “police brutality.”