Overview
- Nine policemen were sentenced to death by the First Additional District and Sessions Court in Madurai on Monday, with Rs 1.40 crore ordered as compensation to the victims’ family.
- Judge G. Muthukumaran deemed the murders a 'rarest of rare' case and said brutality by officers sworn to protect the public required the maximum penalty.
- The CBI said trader P. Jayaraj and his son J. Benicks were wrongfully detained during a Covid lockdown sweep in June 2020 and were beaten through the night inside the Sathankulam police station.
- Key evidence included a woman head constable’s account of blood-stained tables and lathis, along with reports that CCTV footage from the station was missing or deleted.
- Ten officers were charged originally, one died of Covid-19 during trial, and the years-long case proceeded under Madras High Court monitoring with more than 100 witnesses examined.