When the Sathankulam police department in Thoothukudi penned an FIR by cooking the story of justifying why they detained Jayaraj and Bennicks, they believed that bringing the father and son duo under the legal grounds would be accepted by the judicial system and the blame and crime would entirely fall upon the father and the son. However, their beliefs and justification had lasted only for days as the CCTV visuals near Bennick's mobile shop revealed the fact that all the ingredients put by police to cook the story were totally false.

On June 19, the police department of Sathankulam detained 58-year-old Jayaraj and his son 31-year-old Bennicks by alleging that they kept their shops open beyond the lockdown timings prescribed by the government. The police filed FIR against the father and son duo in which they stated that their mobile shop 'APJ Mobiles' was open beyond the curfew time. Jayaraj, Bennicks, and a few others were standing before the shop. The police who were patrolling the area directed them to clear the place, close the shop, and go back to their homes.

The police added in the FIR that "Jayaraj and Bennicks refused to go home, sat on the road, used repellent words against policemen, and rolled on the ground, causing themselves internal injuries" -FIR states and after they protested, the policemen detained them from the spot. However, the latest CCTV visuals that captured before Jayaraj's shop clearly shown that nothing such happened as written by the police department in the FIR against the father and son, which divulged that the law enforcement agency has totally lied and concealed the facts.

The revelation of what actually has happened went contrary to what police had claimed so far, which has now added more pressure against the department and government. The emerged visuals had exemplified that the father and son duo neither protested nor rolled on the ground and all the injuries suffered by them, according to the medical records, were due to the police brutality in the prison.

According to the reports, the released visuals were captured by the CCTV camera that was installed in the shop that was near to Bennick's mobile shop in Sathankulam. The camera has clearly covered a portion of the entrance to the mobile shop and the main road in front of the shop and these visuals were shared by multiple media outlets and the reports stated that the time recorded shown in the CCTV footage is nearly one hour forty minutes fast than the actual timing.

The reports confirmed that there is a time difference of one hour and forty minutes as the time in the computer system which connected the camera is one hour and forty minutes faster than the actual timings and according to the time displayed on the footage, it can be learned that the captured incidents happened between 8.00 to 8.15 pm (about 10 to 15 minutes past curfew time) on June 19. Through the footage, Jayaraj (with a white shirt and dhoti) standing before his shop during which two policemen can be seen walking from the other side where their police vehicle was parked.

The policemen were seen speaking to Jayaraj when the time was 8.03 pm (in the footage, it was 9.43 pm). They had a word with Jayaraj where there were no altercations or tensions. Moments later, the policemen got back to their vehicle while Jayaraj got back to the entrance of his son's mobile shop. A couple of minutes later, around 8.06 pm, the footage shows Jayaraj walks to the other side of the road after he was called by the police and gets into the vehicle.

After seeing that Jayaraj was taken by the police, a man goes into the mobile shop and informed Bennicks and some of his friends who were inside the shop that Jayaraj was taken by the police after which Bennicks (in a yellow shirt and black pants) came out of the shop with furor to know what happened. After knowing that the police van left with his father, Bennicks return to the shop.

This incident happened around 8.07 pm (footage timing - 9.47 pm). Bennicks can be seen taking his phone, dialing, and informing his family members that Jayaraj has been taken by the police. Around 8.10 pm (footage timing-9.50 pm), Bennicks can be seen hopping on the bike behind his friend after which he went to the police station. These were the incidents that happened before the shop and nothing has happened as claimed and mentioned by the police in the FIR - no protests, no abuse, no use of obscene language, and no rolling on the ground.

Apparently, Jayaraj's ride on the car and Bennicks ride on the bike to the police station had become their last rides, and two days later, they breathed their last after facing police brutality in the prison. On June 19, they were arrested and reportedly tortured by the Sathankulam police department in the police station and later lodged in the Kovilpatti sub-jail. In the night hours of June 22, Bennicks died at the Kovilpatti government hospital and in the wee hours of June 23, Jayaraj breathed his last in the same hospital after suffering severe injuries, while they were under the police custody.

According to the medical reports of hospital and prison, they suffered severe multiple injuries on their bodies which were caused not due to the rolling on the ground, as claimed by police, which is now clear that nothing such happened, but due to what they have faced in the prison which has been strongly called as police brutality. The custodial deaths had sparked massive outrage and protests across the state demanding strong action against the responsible police officers and justice to the victims.
 

Must-read: The hell they went through - direct words from Jayaraj's wife!