P Jayaraj and his son Beniks were arrested on Friday for keeping their mobile shop in Tuticorin open even after the permitted hours. They died in a hospital four days later.
Mumbai| The death of the father-son duo in police custody in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin has sparked huge outrage on social media after allegations of police brutality were raised. P Jayaraj and his son Beniks were arrested on Friday for keeping their mobile shop in Tuticorin open even after the permitted hours. They died in a hospital four days later. The relatives of the deceased have alleged that they were brutally thrashed at the Sathankulam police station by police personnel.
Dr.Abraham Mathai, Chairman of Harmony Foundation & former Vice Chairman of Minorities Commission said, “It is known worldwide that the law enforcement are entrusted with the safety and security of the citizens of their respective nations. However the exact seems to be the opposite lately. The murder of George Flyod at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota last month which sparked of demonstrations globally caused us to doubt if those entrusted with our protection have been given the authority to kill. Does there exist a license to kill that is given to policemen the minute they wear the uniform?”
Dr. Mathai stressed that the effects of those demonstrations world over ignited by the killing of George Floyd have not had a reverberating effect in our own backyard.
Talking about the death of father-son duo in police custody, Dr. Mathai said, “In less than 2 weeks of the Minnesota incident, perhaps one of the worst incidents of police brutalities alleged in the country during the COVID-19 lockdown has emerged with the custodial deaths of Jayaraj and his son Bennix in Sathankulam, Tuticorin and it questions the collective conscience of our nation.”
“The brutal torture and murder of this father and son in Tamil Nadu in police custody is terribly shocking and demands for drastic and punitive action to be taken with immediate effect. Should it be inferred that our law enforcement officers are following the example of their counterparts in the United States?” the former Vice Chairman of Minorities Commission asked.
Dr. Mathai also demanded that the same punitive action of arresting and charging the policemen with murder should be applied in the killing of Jayaraj and his son Beniks.
“In the Minnesota incident, the accused cop can say for his defense that he used his knees on Floyd’s neck in an attempt to get him into custody. In the Tuticorin case, on a frivolous charge of keeping their mobile store open beyond the permissible time both the deceased had already been taken into police custody and were brutally tortured and killed by the men in khaki,” Dr. Mathai added.
Shocked over the fact that the accused policemen have not been booked for murder yet, Dr. Mathai said, “What is shocking today is that the officers involved in the double custodial murders have only been suspended and have not yet been charged for their role in this crime.”
“The state government need not await directions from the High Court, which has taken suo moto cognizance but should immediately register an FIR and arrest these policemen to show the world that they operate and govern with a conscience. In the US the government didn’t wait for any court directive but immediately charged the guilty policeman with murder.”
Speaking about the silence across the country over this incident, Dr. Mathai said, “The case of George Floyd resulted in Indians demanding for action. Today, there is deafening silence from a large portion of those very people who demanded action in George Floyd’s case. When it is closer home, our voices should be raised even louder.”
“No one should get away with murder. Least of all those whom we trust with ensuring law and order,” Dr. Mathai concluded.
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