MADURAI: In a shocking revelation, the Kovilpatti Judicial Magistrate I told the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court that CCTV footage at the Sathankulam police station has been deliberately erased to hide the happenings at the police station on June 19, the fateful day on which two traders from Sathankulam - Jeyaraj and his son Beniks - were 'brutally assaulted' leading to their death.
In a report submitted by him to the court on Monday, the magistrate said, "Pursuant to the court's instructions, on June 28, 2020, I went to the Sathankulam police station and attempted to download the footage of the CCTV cameras with system officers deputed for the purpose. However, I came to know that even though the hard disk of the cameras had enough storage space of 1TB, the settings of the same were programmed in such a manner that the data gets erased automatically. Especially, the footage starting from the date of occurrence was missing." He added that he seized the hard disk as evidence.
The judicial officer further stated that a woman constable, who was an eye-witness to the incident, was 'terrified' to reveal the truth. "After much coaxing, she confirmed that the victims were repeatedly thrashed by the cops the whole night and that the blood of the victims can be found in the lathi and table situated in the station," the magistrate stated.
He also added that though she said that she would sign the printed copy of her statement, she refused to sign later owing to the threat made by the other policemen but eventually signed after being assured that her protection would be ensured.
"Even while recording her statement, the policemen were continuously causing disturbance by making noises which frightened the woman constable even more," he said.
The magistrate further spoke about the hostile attitude shown by the police personnel at the station, especially the ADSP D Kumar, DSP C Prathapan and constable Maharajan, which had later prompted the court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings against them.
The magistrate added that Maharajan was giving contradictory answers to the questions posed and that he also refused to hand over the evidence - his lathi stick. Maharajan went on to make a disparaging comment in Tamil, the magistrate added.
Another policeman, who was also asked to hand over his lathi, immediately fled the spot, the magistrate said. Due to the continued disturbance, the magistrate had to leave the station, he added.