In a major breakthrough in the case of custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Bennicks in Sathankulam, Thoothukudi district, the special team of Crime Branch -Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID), which has been probing the case of what has become a horrific incident of police brutality, has, on Thursday -June 2, arrested three police officers of the Sathankulam police station connected to the custodial deaths of the father and son.

The latest arrests of suspended Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspector Balakrishnan, head constable Murugan, and Muthuraj have come hours after detaining another suspended Sub-Inspector Raghu Ganesh. An FIR has been booked under section 302 of IPC (Murder charges) against the arrested officers for further investigation into the custodial deaths. These arrests have come a day after the CBCID took over the probe into the matter as per the directive of the Madras High Court Madurai Bench.

The special team has started the probe on Tuesday from the Sathankulam police station and they investigated the family members of the victims and multiple people in connection to the case including the woman police officer of the station who confessed the fact and became eye-witness. On Wednesday, the special team questioned SI Raghu Ganesh for six hours at the Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police's office.

Following the investigation with Raghu Ganesh, who has been one of the officers who brutally tortured the father and son, the CBCID had immediately arrested him and slapped a murder case against him under section 302 of IPC. Raghu Ganesh has been taken under custody till July 16 as his arrest has become a major development in the case, which has been keenly watched by people across the state and the nation.

According to the reports, the other responsible police officers were unavailable for the investigation and the special team had, along with the district police department, launched an operation to locate other officers. The CBCID had installed 12 special teams to probe the matter and to detain the other responsible officers including inspector Sridhar and Sub-Inspector Balakrishnan. 

Following their search, the CBCID has, on Thursday, morning arrested Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspector Balakrishnan, and Head Constable Murugan and the special team had changed the FIR, which was earlier booked as suspicious deaths, and booked the officers under section 302 of IPC - murder charges. 

According to the special team officer, 'the arrested police officers have been booked under murder charges and further investigation is on into the custodial deaths'. These police officers were already been suspended and kept under the waiting list. The case has been attaining vital developments with back to back evidence which exhumed shocking revelations of how police brutally tortured and beaten the father and son duo.

The custodial deaths had ignited massive outrage across the state following which the Madras High Court Madurai Bench had taken the matter under the suo motu cognizance and on Tuesday, the high court directed CBCID to take over the case, though the state government has transferred the case to the CBI. The court observed that the delay in the commencement of the CBI probe would lead to the tampering of the evidence by the Sathankulam police officers.

The High Court has ordered the CBCID probe with accord to the postmortem reports of the deceased and the confession of the woman police officer attached to the station who was present on June 19, when the police detained and brought Jayaraj and Bennicks. The Autopsy report and the statement of the woman police officer revealed that Jayaraj and Bennicks were brutally tortured and beaten throughout the night by the policemen and the duo had suffered multiple injuries due to which they later succumbed one after the other. 

As the evidence revealed that they were tortured by the policemen, the case went to the CBCID following which the four police officers who are directly connected to the case have been arrested and booked under the grounds of murder.