The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has demanded the arrest of police officers and others of Sattankulam police station on a murder charge in connection with the “brutal” custodial attacks on a father and son in the police station, who subsequently died at the jail.
Even as the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has said that it has found a prima facie case against the police personnel, the party’s north district secretary and Tiruchuli MLA, Thangam Thennarasu, in a virtual press conference held here on Tuesday, said that closed circuit television footage has revealed that every word in the First Information Report on the arrest of Jayaraj and his son Bennicks has been fabricated.
While the police had claimed that they had to intervene following heavy crowding at the mobile phone shop run by Bennicks, the CCTV footage showed that there was no crowd.
The police said that both the father and son had rolled on the floor and that had led to bleeding injuries. But, nothing of that sort had happened. The police also had claimed that both were arrested and taken to the police station. But only the father was taken in a police vehicle, while Bennicks had followed the police vehicle on a motorbike.
The timing of the incident as per the video footage and the FIR too had huge gaps, he added.
‘Judicial officer intimidated’
Mr. Thennarasu pointed out that a police constable had threatened the Judicial Magistrate who was enquiring into the case based on the High Court direction.
Stating that the incident had happened in the very presence of an Additional Superintendent of Police and a Deputy Superintendent of Police, he wondered why these senior police officers had gone to the police station when the enquiry was on. “On whose direction had they gone there?” he asked.
Mr. Thennarasu said the fact that the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has allowed the Revenue Department to take over the Sattankulam police station showed that the judiciary had lost faith in the district police.
“All those who were behind the brutal killing should be booked for murder charge and immediately arrested,” Mr Thennarasu said.
Mr. Thennarasu exuded confidence in the judicial enquiry and said that no one involved in this grave crime should be spared.
