Madurai: Nine Police personnel convicted in the 2020 custodial deaths case, in which trader P. Jayaraj (58) and his son J. Benicks (31) died after being severely assaulted and tortured in Police custody in the southern Tamil Nadu town of Sattankulam, were sentenced to death by a Court in Madurai yesterday.

Judge G. Muthukumaran imposed the death penalty on all nine convicted Policemen, the then Inspector S. Sridhar, Sub-Inspectors K. Balakrishnan and P. Raghu Ganesh, Head Constables S. Murugan and A. Samadurai and Constables M. Muthuraja, S. Chelladurai, X. Thomas Francis & S. Vailmuthu. The tenth accused, Special Sub-Inspector Pauldurai, died of COVID-19 during the trial.

The Court accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) contention that the custodial torture was premeditated & carried out through the night, warranting maximum punishment.

The case had triggered nationwide outrage in 2020. Jayaraj and Benicks were picked up on June 19 for allegedly keeping their mobile accessories shop open in violation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Investigators later found that they were subjected to sustained torture inside the Sattankulam Police Station, suffering severe injuries, including blunt-force trauma and heavy bleeding. The duo was beaten up by about 10 Cops at the Sattankulam Police Station through the night of June 19, 2020. While the son died on June 22, Jayaraj succumbed to his injuries the following day.

While pronouncing the verdict, the Judge said that he is of the opinion that imposing the death penalty would be the best option, as “life imprisonment would not instil fear in the Police officers.”

The sentencing comes two weeks after Judge Muthukumaran convicted the Policemen guilty in the case and held that the father-son duo was a clear victim of custodial violence.