Jeyaraj-Beniks: How Lockdown Violations Turned to Custodial Deaths
What do we know about the events that led to the twin deaths in police custody? Tune in to The Big Story!
At a time when George Floyd's death in the US has triggered a global outcry against police brutalities, India reported what is possibly one of the worst incidents of police brutality in the lockdown from the state of Tamil Nadu.
In a twisted case, two ordinary people Jeyaraj and his son Beniks from Thoothukudi district who owned a mobile store were allegedly tortured and killed in police custody over a minor violation: keeping their mobile store open 15 minutes beyond the lockdown curfew timings in the state.
After spending three days in lockup, Beniks died at the Kovilpatti Government Hospital from severe chest pain, and within hours of his death Jeyaraj breathed his last too at the same hospital. But between the allegations and the police's FIR, there are a lot of conflicting details and unanswered questions.
What do we know about the events that led to the twin deaths in police custody? Why is it raising human rights concerns and protests against police's high handedness in the country? Tune in to The Big Story!
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)