Last week’s custodial death of the father-son duo of P Jeyaraaj and J Fenix at Sattankulam Police Station in thoothukudi district took a new turn on Tuesday with the Division Bench of the Madras High Court directing the Deputy Superintendent of Police (CB-CID) Tirunelveli to take up the investigation on Tuesday itself as the court feared that there were possibilities of the evidences being tampered with by the accused cops.
Though the Additional Advocate General informed the Court that the Tamil Nadu Government had ordered a CBI probe into the death of Jeyaraaj and Fenix, the Court said till the time the CBI officials take charge of the investigation, cops belonging to the CB-CID should conduct the investigation as it cannot be left to the officials manning the police station.
Judges P N Prakash and B N Pugalendhi who examined the autopsy reports submitted by the Forensic Sciences Department and the Judicial Magistrate who investigated the happenings in the police station and the Kovilpatti Jail said that prima facie there were sufficient evidences to doubt about brutality. “The autopsy report speaks about assault marks on the bodies of Jeyaraaj and Fenix. The Judicial Magistrate deputed by this court for an on the spot assessment at the police station was threatened by the cops,” said the judges.
The High Court also initiated suo motu criminal contempt proceedings against ASP D.Kumar, DSP C.Prathaban and constable Murugan, who had made some disparaging remarks against the Judicial Magistrate when the latter went to the station for the investigation. Based on the directions of the court, all the three police personnel appeared before the court on Tuesday. The judges directed them to give an explanation for intimidating the Kovilpatti Judicial Magistrate within four weeks.
While the three officials were suspended from service pending investigation, the policemen and officers attached to the Sattankulam Police Station too were transferred en masse. The State Government on its part transferred the district superintendent of police by Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile Tenkasi SP announced on Tuesday that the probe into the death of Murugesan who died allegedly due to police brutality was happening in proper lines. “A deputy superintendent of police level official is in charge of the investigation and we hope to come out with the details soon,” said Suguna Singh, Tenkasi SP.
Murugesan (25) died last Saturday after Police officials who had summoned him to the station in connection with a property dispute case allegedly manhandled him and employed third degree measures.