Chennai: Amid boiling anger over the deaths in Tamil Nadu of a father-son duo arrested for keeping their shop open beyond permitted hours, security footage appears to contradict the claims that the two men had resisted arrest and fought with the police hurling abuses.
CCTV footage from Tuticorin has captured Jeyaraj, 59, and his son Beniks, 31, in the key moments before getting arrested by the Sathankulam police June 19 for violating coronavirus lockdown rules by keeping their mobile phone shop open 15 minutes after curfew time.
The seven-and-a-half minute footage from the evening of June 19 shows no argument at least on camera footage as the FIR filed by the police claims. Neither does it show any “rolling around” by the men, which the police had alleged was the cause of the heated flare off that led to the arrest of the father-son pair.
Jeyaraj is seen standing outside his shop talking on the mobile, then walking out of the camera’s view. Later a small group watches from his shop. Then Beniks is seen rushing out, apparently after his father. It’s not clear what happened after they got off camera.
Beniks and some men return after a while, without Jeyaraj, presumed at this point to have been taken into custody. Beniks then hops on a bike riding pillion and leaves the shop.
The two men were allegedly subjected to brutal torture that night at the police station.
The day after their arrest, a magistrate reportedly sent them to judicial custody without looking at the men, who were in a police vehicle, their bodies allegedly bearing signs of savage beating.
Beniks, whose wounds horrified his family members, died June 22 while his father died the next day.
The FIR alleges the two men had verbally abused the police and were injured when they rolled around on the street, trying to fight arrest.
The tragic deaths have been compared to the killing in the US of George Floyd, a black man who died after being subjected to a police scuffhold. The event has trigerred mass protests across the world.
People across India, including activists, politicians and celebrities have demanded murder charges against the policemen involved. The police have only registered a case of suspicious deaths till now. The state government has decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI, which, some activists say, could dilute the case and delay justice for Jeyaraj and Beniks.
PNN/Agencies