Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
The First Additional District and Sessions Court in Madurai on Monday, August 4, dismissed a petition filed by suspended Inspector S Sridhar, the prime accused in the 2020 Sathankulam custodial deaths case, who had sought to turn approver and testify against other police personnel.
In his petition at the trial court, Sridhar, who was the Station House Officer at Sathankulam police station in Thoothukudi district at the time of the incident, expressed his willingness to make a full and truthful disclosure of the events leading to the deaths of 58-year-old P Jeyaraj and his 31-year-old son J Bennix. In return, he sought a pardon from the court.
Jeyaraj and Bennix, who ran a mobile phone shop in Sathankulam, were arrested on June 19, 2020, for allegedly violating COVID-19 lockdown norms. They died within days of their arrest, allegedly due to brutal custodial torture.
Sridhar’s petition was filed in May this year, following which the trial court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit a response. The CBI filed a counter affidavit strongly opposing the plea, identifying Sridhar as the main conspirator.
According to the CBI, Sridhar had instigated other police personnel to torture the victims from the night of June 19 until around 3 am the next morning. Both Jeyaraj and Bennix succumbed to multiple blunt-force injuries, as confirmed by forensic and medical reports. The CBI argued that no leniency should be granted to Sridhar and urged the court to reject his plea.
Selvarani, the wife of deceased Jeyaraj, also filed a counter affidavit opposing Sridhar’s petition, alleging that it was a deliberate attempt to delay the trial. She noted that there were multiple eyewitnesses, including fellow police personnel, and demanded that justice be served without compromise.
Sridhar’s plea came weeks after the Madras High Court rejected his seventh bail application, citing the grave nature of the charges against him. He is currently lodged in Madurai Central Prison, along with nine other suspended policemen who are also facing trial. One of the originally accused officers died of COVID-19.