Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin saw another case of police brutality. When P. Jayaraj and his son, Fenix were closing their shop at 8:15 in the evening of June 19, they had not thought that a delay of fifteen minutes is going to cost them a brutal torture and then their lives.
Both the men were picked by the police for violating the lockdown regulations. They were declared dead due to respiratory illness. But their lawyer has reported otherwise. He shared the terrifying incident with the media.
Advocate S Manimaran told India Today, “I gave them four clothes to change. We had laid down a blanket in the seat of the car when we went to pick them up, Fenix had lost a lot of flesh on his back. He was a well-built man. The car driver was in tears seeing their state. The spot where Fenix sat was covered with blood, the place where Jayaraj was sitting was also all blood. The blankets are still with us. They were beaten to death.”
They were booked under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 353 (use of force to deter public servant from duty) 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and 506(2) (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Madras High Court has ordered an inquiry and directed the Tuticorin Superintendent of Police to submit a status report, post-mortem video. The court also has instructed that the CCTV visuals of Kovilpatti jail, the register and documents should be kept safe for the court’s future use.
Police Brutality is not new. Only recently, we saw George Floyd die when police officers beat him up for being black. The justice was served when the officers were imprisoned. People are protesting against what happened to the father-son duo. Let’s do our bit.
Image Credits: India Today
