The Sattankulam custodial torture deaths of a father and son | Explained

Six years after a trader P. Jayaraj and his son J. Benicks died of custodial torture during the COVID-19 lockdown at the Sattankulam Police Station in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, the First Additional District and Sessions Court in Madurai on Monday (March 23, 2026) convicted all nine accused police personnel.

Judge G. Muthukumaran said he will pronounce the quantum of sentence on March 30.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed its chargesheet in the case on September 25, 2020 and followed it up with a supplementary chargesheet on August 12, 2022. It arraigned as accused the then Sattankulam Inspector S. Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors P. Raghu Ganesh and K. Balakrishnan, head constables S. Murugan and A. Saamidurai, and constables M. Muthuraj, S. Chelladurai, X. Thomas Francis, and S. Veilumuthu. Special Sub-Inspector Pauldurai, an accused in the case, died during trial after contracting COVID-19.

The CBI said Jayaraj and his son Benicks were subjected to brutal torture by the policemen, knowing full well that it was sufficient to cause their deaths. During the investigation it was revealed the traders had not violated COVID-19 lockdown rules, a charge on which the police had detained them. The CBI said the investigation revealed Jayaraj was picked up from his shop near the Kamaraj statue at 7.30 p.m. on June 19, 2020, and lodged at Sattankulam police station in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused.