Pressure is mounting for the Tamil Nadu government to permanently dismiss nine police personnel convicted in the Sathankulam custodial deaths case, in which a father and son were allegedly beaten to death in 2020.
The victims, traders Jayaraj (59) and his son Bennix (31), were taken to the Sathankulam police station in Thoothukudi district on June 19, 2020. The case alleged that Inspector Sridhar and eight others assaulted them, leading to their deaths.
Following an investigation by the CBI, a Madurai district court convicted the accused and awarded the death penalty to Inspector Sridhar, sub-inspectors Balakrishnan and Ragu Ganesh, head constables Murugan and Samathurai, and constables Muthuraja, Chellathurai, Thomas Francis and Veyilumuthu. All nine are currently under suspension and lodged in prison.
Nallvinai Viswaraju, general secretary of the “10 Rupee Movement”, said the continued temporary suspension allows the accused to receive subsistence allowance. He urged the Home Secretary, the DGP or the South Zone IG to issue permanent dismissal orders without delay.
He also alleged that efforts were being made to remove them from service in a manner that could still enable pension benefits. The group said it plans a “surrender protest” by submitting voter ID cards in front of the Thoothukudi SP office.
