The CBI team investigating the custodial death of Sattankulam trader P. Jayaraj and his son J. Benicks on Thursday grilled two constables of the Kovilpatti East police station as the father and son died in the Kovilpatti Government Hospital, which falls under the jurisdiction of their station.
The CBI investigators, who reached Kovilpatti on Thursday around 2.45 p.m., questioned constables Sivakumar and Karuppasamy separately and recorded their statements.
They also interrogated former Deputy Director of Health Services, Thoothukudi, Pon Esakki and Kovilpatti government hospital staff Vanaja and Arunachala Perumal at the Kovilpatti East police station and recorded their statements, sources said.
After the father and son were allegedly subjected to custodial torture by Inspector Sridhar, sub-inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh and other police personnel on June 19 at Sattankulam police station throughout the night, the badly injured duo was lodged in the Kovilpatti sub-jail. As Jayaraj and Benicks developed serious health issues, they were admitted to the Kovilpatti government hospital.
While Benicks succumbed to his injuries on June 22 around 9 p.m., his father breathed his last on June 23 around 5.30 a.m.
As the custodial deaths triggered nationwide upheaval, the State government handed over the case to the CB-CID for investigation. Even as the CB-CID was conducting the probe, after registering a murder case against Sridhar, Balakrishnan, Raghu Ganesh and seven others and arresting them, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court handed over the case to the CBI.
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