00:07A landmark case, nine policemen sentenced to death, a family's long fight for justice
00:11finally came to an end. On April 6, 2026, the Madurai Additional District and Sessions Court
00:17sentenced nine policemen to death in the custodial deaths of P. Jayaraj and his son Benix in
00:21Tamil Nadu, Sandakullam, in Thutukudi in 2020. The father and son were detained by the Tamil Nadu
00:27police on June 19, 2020, for allegedly keeping the shop open beyond permitted hours during
00:32COVID-19 restrictions. What followed, the court said, was brutal. Judge G. Mutukumaran called
00:37it a rarest of rare case. He said the two men were stripped and assaulted in front of each
00:42other, calling it a clear abuse of authority. Father and son stripped, ruthlessly assaulted,
00:47heart shudders reading about it. A judicial magistrate's report recorded 18 serious injuries
00:52on their bodies. The court also noted that many officers in Tamil Nadu serve honestly and said
00:57the ruling will not instill fear among the police. According to media reports, apart from the death
01:02sentence, the nine policemen charged with murder, wrongful confinement and fabricating evidence
01:06have also been fined for a total of Rs 1,40,000. The CBI, which investigated the case, relied on
01:12forensic evidence, medical reports and witness testimonies to establish the brutal assault in
01:17the police station. The agency had pressed for a maximum punishment, the death penalty or life
01:22imprisonment without possibility of parole. However, the death sentence will be carried out
01:26only after it is confirmed by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court. Meanwhile, actor and
01:31politician Kamal Hassan responded to the verdict, reiterating his long-standing opposition to the
01:36death penalty. He said those convicted of serious crime should face life imprisonment instead.
01:40The conviction came after a trial spanning over six years. The nine policemen were found guilty on
01:45March 23, 2026. But this case also echoes other custodial deaths. In Kerala's Thiruvanthapuram,
01:52Udaykumar, a 26-year-old scrap metal worker, died in police custody on September 27, 2025. In that case,
01:59too, a special CBI court awarded capital punishment to two policemen. The sentencing judge, Judge Nazar,
02:04ruled that the crime fell in the rarest of rare category. For Jayaraj and Benik's family,
02:09the wait has been long. Now, their fight for justice has finally come to a close.
02:15Long.
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