CBI charges police in Satankulam murder case

The CBI has informed the Madurai bench of Madras High Court that the father and son were brutally beaten by the police while being kept in the police station under custody in Sathankulam. 

Jayaraj and Bennicks, the father and son who were running a cell phone shop in Sathankulam of Thoothukudi district. They were taken to the police station on June 19, 2020, for allegedly keeping open the shop during the COVID curfew period. Subsequently, teh father-son duo were pronounced dead while in custody. 

The incident of custodial death caused a huge stir across the country. The case was then transferred to the CBI for investigation. The CBI has filed a charge sheet against nine persons, including Sathankulam Inspector Sridharan, Sub-Inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh, who were arrested in this connection.

In this situation, SI Raghu Ganesh has filed a petition in the High Court seeking bail. When the petition came up for hearing before Justice Murali Shankar today, the CBI had strongly opposed granting bail to Raghu Ganesh. The lawyer appearing for the CBI said, "The country is at peace with the full power given to the police.

 The police are there to protect the people. But in the case of Sathankulam, 2 persons have been kept in the police station and brutally beaten to death.

There are various witnesses to this. In this case, the witnesses are likely to be manipulated if bail is granted to the main culprits, including Raghu Ganesh. So Raghu Ganesh should not be granted bail. There is already a similar complaint against him”. 

Then the judges said, “Time has passed. The bail cannot be denied any further as it is already one year.” In response, the CBI said the case was delayed due to the Corona period. There will be no more delays. Therefore, he should not be granted bail, the CBI’s counsel argued. The judges, who recorded this, adjourned the case sine die.