The CBI has taken over the probe into alleged custodial deaths of the father-son duo at Sathankulam police station in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu.
The alleged beating by the police personnel leading to the deaths of J Benniks and his father RP Jeyaraj on June 20 and June 23 respectively evoked nationwide outrage and triggered calls for police reforms.
Amid the public outcry over the incident, the State government referred the two cases for a CBI probe with Chief Minister K Palaniswami writing a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting a probe into the cases by the Central agency.
After getting a reference from the Centre on Monday, the CBI entrusted the investigation to its Delhi-based Special Crimes Unit (SCU) and dispatched a team to conduct the probe, officials said.
As per procedures, the CBI on Tuesday evening re-registered the two cases originally lodged by the Kovilpatti police station under IPC Section of custodial death with suspected offences to be "illegal detention, murder and destruction of evidence".
The deceased persons ran a mobile shop at Kovilpatti and they were arrested for alleged violation of prohibitory orders in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 by keeping their shop open beyond permitted time.
The judicial magistrate probing the incident had informed the Madras High Court that the policemen thrashed the father-son duo the whole night in the police station with batons and a table with bloodstains bore testimony to the allegations of torture.
The magistrate’s findings were based on a statement of a woman constable attached to the police station where the alleged crime took place.
Mentioning Head Constable Revathy''s statement in a four-page report to the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, the magistrate said she feared threats if she revealed the facts.
After the alleged torture, Jeyaraj and Benniks were sent to sub-jail under remand around 2.30 am on June 20 where they were kept as prisoner number 3636 and 3635 respectively.
In the morning around 7.45, Benniks complained of a wheezing problem and was taken to Kovilpatti Government hospital in an autorickshaw. The doctors declared at 9 AM that he could not survive, the FIR alleged.
On June 22, at about 10.20 PM, Jeyaraj complained of fever and was taken to the Government hospital. Next morning at about 5.40 am, doctors told the authorities that the treatment failed and Jeyaraj too died, according to the FIR.