High Court transfers custodial deaths case to CB-CID

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday transferred the investigation into the custodial deaths of a father and his son to the CB-CID as it expressed the fear that crucial evidence could get dissipated by the time the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe.

The court also said the “anti-mortem” injuries found on the bodies of P Jeyaraj and his son Emmanuel Bennix, who were killed allegedly in police custody, and the statement by a woman head constable of the Sathankulam police station that the duo was “beaten through the night” was “prima facie enough” to charge the policemen involved in the incident for murder.

Even as the hearing in the court was underway, the Tamil Nadu government shunted out Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police (SP) Arun Balagopalan and replaced him with Villupuram SP S Jeyakumar. It also appointed S Murugan as the IG, South, Madurai Range in place of K P Shanmuga Rajeswaran who retired on Tuesday. Balagopalan is placed on the compulsory waitlist.

However, the fresh appointments also triggered controversy due to allegations against the two officers. While Murugan is accused of sexually harassing a woman police officer, Jeyakumar was questioned by the CBI in connection with the multi-crore gutkha scam. A case against Murugan is pending before the Madras High Court.

The government also placed D Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police, and C Prathapan, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Thoothukudi on the “compulsory wait list” and suspended constable Maharajan. However, the two officers were given postings within hours.

They appeared before the court on Tuesday after they were summoned following JM’s complaint that the constable used disparaging remarks against him in the presence of the two officers.

A division bench of Justices P N Prakash and B Pugalendhi appointed Anil Kumar, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, CB-CID, Tirunelveli, as the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case and asked him to proceed further without waiting for any formal order from the DGP. The government had on Monday night issued a formal order transferring the case of the custodial deaths of the father-son duo to the CBI.

The division bench also told the Tamil Nadu government that it was open for it to “revisit the idea” of entrusting the matter to the CBI, if it is satisfied that the probe by the IO is proceeding on the right lines.

Taking strong note of the Kovilpatti Judicial Magistrate M S Bharathidasan’s report in which, he has explained how he was intimidated by policemen inside the Sathankulam police station on June 28 during the inquiry, the division bench of Justices P N Prakash and B Pugalendhi said they are being constrained to step in to ensure precious evidence does not get dissipated.

The court also noted that a woman head constable from the Sathankulam police station has testified before the JM that policemen mercilessly beat Jeyaraj and Bennix through the night after they were arrested on July 19.

“In our opinion, the ante-mortem injuries found on the bodies of the deceased, coupled with the averments in the report of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.1, Kovilpatti, especially the statement of Revathy, Head Constable, would be prima facie enough to alter the case to one under Section 302 IPC against the Sathankulam policemen who were actively involved in the investigation of the case,” the court said.

After taking Jeyaraj and Bennix into custody during which they were alleged to have been tortured, the police shifted them to the Kovilpatti sub-jail on June 21. However, the son died on June 22 and the father on June 23 due to injuries sustained during the custody.

While asking the Thoothukudi district collector to ensure the safety of the policewoman and her family members, the bench also suggested that she may even be granted leave from duty as “we fear that there will be an attempt to intimidate her and make her resile from her version” given to the JM.

In the report, JM complained that the Sathankulam police did not cooperate with him during the enquiry and made things quite difficult for him and his team. The JM noted that the woman head constable, who testified before him, was anxious while recording her statement and was in constant fear.

“The constable testified that Jeyaraj and Bennix were beaten by policemen inside a room through the night after their arrest on June 19 and she told us that it was necessary to seize lathi and table which have bloodstains," the JM said in his report.

Noting that the police was scared that people (policemen) standing outside the room in which she was testifying would hear her statements, the JM said an uneasy atmosphere was created which hindered the job of recording the statements as part of the inquiry.

"The witness (police woman) was scared that she would be threatened if she told the truth. Since she (policewoman) was anxious while testifying, she was given enough time to cool down," the JM said in his report. He also said the policemen handed over their lathis only after much insistence from the probe team.

While hearing the suo motu criminal contempt petition filed against Kumar, Prathapan and Maharajan, the Additional Advocate General K Chellapandian said the trio regretted their act of not cooperating with the JM and using disparaging remarks against him due to “immense stress.” He also informed the court about the action taken against them by the government.