A Madurai court, on March 23, found nine policemen guilty of murdering father and son Jeyaraj and Bennicks while in custody in 2020. Reacting to the court’s verdict, Bennicks’ elder sister Persis said, “The sentencing should be a warning against any custodial deaths in the future. Those who abuse their power and carry out barbaric human rights violations should be a little scared.”
Persis added, “There was some comfort, today, to hear the judge say that it was indeed because of police violence that my brother and father died.”
Through the multiple procedural delays over the years, she also recalled fearing that the accused would go unpunished.
“There should be means for speedier trials. Our case took nearly six years. If we had got justice even in two years, it may have prevented another custodial death. Another custodial death should never happen. The state government has to take all necessary steps to ensure that. It is not the rich and powerful, but poor or middle class people whom police clash with,” Persis added.
The Madurai Additional District and Sessions Court’s verdict comes nearly six years after both men died in 2020.
Ten police personnel, including Accused 1 Inspector S Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors P Raghuganesh (A3) and K Balakrishnan (A2), and several constables had eventually been charged. One of the accused, Pauldurai, died of COVID-19.
Now considered one of the worst incidents of custodial violence and police brutality during the COVID-19 lockdown, the case shook Tamil Nadu. On June 19, 2020, Jeyaraj (58) and Benniks (31) were taken into custody by Sathankulam police.
Both men ran a mobile phone shop in Sathankulam town. Police claimed the shop was open in violation of lockdown protocols — later proven to be false allegations.
Jeyaraj was picked up first before 8 pm, when curfew began. Then, Benniks and a friend rushed to the police station. After being forced to wait a while, Benniks was called in — this was the last his friend saw of him. No family or associates were allowed to meet the two men.
On June 23, police said Jeyaraj and Benniks had died at the Kovilpatti Government Hospital, about 100 kilometres from Sathankulam.
In the following days, evidence emerged that the victims had been subjected to brutal and prolonged torture. As protests grew across Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK, who were in power at the time, transferred the probe to the CBI on June 30. Much of the outrage was directed at Chief Minister Edapadi Palanisamy, who was accused of shielding the police officers.
According to the CBI’s forensic report, Jeyaraj and Bennicks were tortured from 7.40 pm to 3 am on June 20. DNA samples collected from the walls of the Sathankulam station’s lockup, toilet, and lathis matched the victims’. The two men were reportedly forced to clean up their own blood with their clothes before they collapsed. Autopsy reports also revealed that Jeyaraj had suffered at least 17 injuries and Benniks had sustained 13 injuries and severe blood loss.
Among the evidence was a blood-stained blanket. Both men were bleeding so profusely they had been made to change their veshtis (dhotis) thrice. The blanket, given to them to sit on while being transferred to the Kovilpatti sub-jail, had been stained with blood despite changing their clothes.
Further, the CBI found that 11 sticks in total had been used to assault the victims, including two lathis and a plastic pipe.
The case also brought to light structural failures in the criminal justice system.
For instance, the decisions of the magistrate who remanded the two men and the government doctors were questioned. The men did not have a remand advocate nor did the magistrate consider previous allegations of custodial violence against two of the policemen involved: Sub Inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghuganesh.
During the remand process, doctors failed to report the signs of custodial torture and existing medical conditions.
The police claimed that there had been an altercation between them and the victims in front of the shop. They also claimed that both men had sustained internal injuries from rolling on the ground during this altercation. TNM accessed CCTV visuals from the shop at the time Jeyaraj was picked up. The visuals did not corroborate any of the police’ claims.
In 2021, the Madras High Court, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the case, directed the trial court to complete the trial within six months.
In 2022, a key witness, a woman constable named Revathi, testified before the Madurai First Additional District and Sessions court. Previously, a three-page report submitted by the Kovilpatti Magistrate to the Madras High Court revealed the extent of violence the men endured. The report also noted the degree of fear and intimidation Sathankulam police exerted on other eyewitnesses.
The trial court dismissed prime accused Inspector Sridhar’s plea to turn approver in 2025. Both the CBI and Jeyaraj’s wife Selvarani strongly opposed the plea. The CBI said that Sridhar had instigated other police personnel to torture the victims from the night of June 19 until around 3 am the next morning. They argued that no leniency should be granted to Sridhar.
Speaking to TNM, Persis pointed out, “My father and brother did no wrong. So we had a lot of public support. Had they been at any fault, we may not have had the same support. But police have no right to carry out custodial torture, regardless of innocence. Whether an individual does something wrong is secondary. The sentencing should prevent this from happening again.”
Vinoth, Jeyaraj’s son-in-law, added, “The sentencing should be the highest lesson — those in authority should realise the limits of their power and protocol.”