Why did police take TN father-son duo to jail 109 km away?

Why did police take TN father-son duo to jail 109 km away?

Kovilpatti Sub-jail May Hold Some Dark Secrets In Jeyaraj-Beniks Custodial Death Case

A.Subramani @timesgroup.com

Chennai: 04.06.2020

Several questions remain unanswered in the horrific Jeyaraj-Beniks custodial murder narrative, and one particularly dark part is the health condition during their stay in Kovilpatti sub-jail.

The father-son duo spent 15 hours at the Sathankulam police station and two nights inside the sub-jail. Jeyaraj spent an additional night at Kovilpatti government hospital, but did not live to see the next dawn.

Jeyaraj was probably the only eyewitness outside the police and prison circles to his son’s lock-up torture as borne out by medical records. He, too, was bleeding.

Why was no step taken to rush him either to a hospital along with his ‘ill’ son, or to a safer place in view of his status as the sole direct eyewitness to the treatment his son was subjected? That makes Jeyaraj’s death more intriguing than his son’s.

Did Jeyaraj and Beniks get timely and adequate medical treatment inside the Kovilpatti sub-jail for the injuries suffered during their detention at Sathankulam police station? Obviously, no. Beniks died within 75 minutes of being taken to the Kovilpatti government hospital on June 22 and Jeyaraj died within seven hours after being taken to the same hospital. Their delayed admission in Kovilpatti government hospital defies every logic.

The two men, with gluteal injuries ostensibly due to lathi blows, were admitted to the Kovilpatti sub-jail at 2.30 pm on June 20, 2020. It was at 7.45 pm on June 22 – after two nights in the jail – that Beniks was taken to the hospital, only to be declared ‘expired’ at 9 pm.

Even the ‘hospitalisation’ and the subsequent death of Beniks did not spur the sub-jail personnel to rush Jeyaraj for a medical check-up. Jeyaraj was kept in the jail for about 90 minutes after his son died, and till he ‘complained’ of some health problem. Admitted to the hospital at 10.30 pm on June 22, he was declared ‘expired’ at 5.40 am the next day.

Questions are also being raised about why the two were driven all the way to Kovilpatti sub-jail located 109 km from Sathankulam, though there were at least three jails, including Palayamkottai central jail, which were nearer? Remanding magistrate B Saravanan did not specify that the two should be taken to a far-off jail. While Tuticorin is about 60 km away, Tiruchendur is just 33 km away. The Palayamkottai central jail is about 48k m.

Veterans among police and prosecution refuse to believe that an FIR could be registered against someone for delaying closure of their shop during the lockdown. They say third-degree treatment meted out to Jeyaraj and Beniks is disproportionate to their alleged ‘offence’ which is delayed closure of shop or arguing with policemen. The fact that they were driven more than 100 km to be lodged in a sub-jail (Kovilpatti facility is headed by a sub-inspector-grade superintendent, a head constable-grade head warder and four warders of constable-grade) where they die of ‘sudden illness’ after two nights adds another layer to the mystery.

P Jeyaraj (right) and his son Fennix spent 15 hours at the Sathankulam police station and two nights in the sub-jail.