TENKASI: A deafening silence permeated the rental house in Tenkasi, where the family members of Jayaraj and Bennix–the father-son duo beaten to death by Sathankulam police in 2020– currently reside. Accompanying the overwhelming quiet are the framed photographs of wedding events, in which Jayaraj and Bennix had posed with their family members, hanging in the hall.
J Selvarani (60), Jayaraj’s wife and Bennix’s mother, was sitting on the kitchen floor, lost in her thoughts. J Persis (38), one of Jayaraj’s daughters, now works in Tenkasi, away from their home in Sathankulam. The streets, roadside mobile shops, and the church of the town have become a constant reminder of police brutality, said Selvarani, who has hardly visited the town over the past six years.
Persis, recalling the cruelty her father and younger brother had endured at the hands of the Sathankulam police, said, since the incident, there had not been a day her family did not cry. “Although my father and brother will not return, the recent conviction of nine police personnel in the Sathankulam custodial death case has finally consoled us. For years, we could not sleep peacefully.
I lost the love of my father and my brother. However, we hope that the punishment to be pronounced on Monday at the trial court in Madurai will ensure that nobody else in Tamil Nadu undergoes the torture they had gone through,” she said. The family further expressed their gratitude towards police constable Revathy, who spoke out about the custodial torture, as well as activists, political parties and the public for their support.
“We were six in our family, including my husband, three daughters, and our only son Bennix,” said Selvarani. “Be it a family function or church festival, Jayaraj and Bennix used to be the first persons to receive the attendees. After their demise, we could not wholeheartedly attend any function in Sathankulam. We lost both the men in our family. My prayers over the past six years have been about getting justice for them,” she added.
Persis was in Vijayawada on the day of the incident. She recalled how the two never missed a day to call and enquire about her well-being. She said, “The CBI chargesheet states that the convicted police personnel, after taking Jayaraj and Bennix into custody, talked among themselves that they had a father and son to practise beating on. How cruel was that! My father and brother were not involved in any crime. They were killed only because they argued with the police. The ego of the police ruined our family.”
When asked about the extrajudicial acts by police personnel continuing even after the Sathankulam incident, Persis said, “The police should not think that the public are their slaves. The men in their custody also have wives and children depending on them. Even if the accused had committed a crime, it is the courts that should punish them.”
Speaking about the pattern of police targeting only those from marginalised communities, Persis said the police would never target affluent or politically influential persons. “The Sathankulam police killed my father and brother thinking we did not have the power to respond.
A section of people praising the extrajudicial actions of the police only encourages such behaviour. It is one of the reasons behind the custodial deaths of innocent people,” she said, warning that, if the situation continued, those encouraging police excess could end up being the victims of the same.
The incident of custodial torture shattered the family’s perception of the system of policing. Persis said, “How brutal they must have been to beat my father and brother continuously for six hours! I now feel a sense of hatred towards the police.” She said she now avoids eye contact whenever she comes across someone in police uniform.
