THOOTHUKUDI/MADURAI: Hours after the CB-CID arrested four policemen in connection with the Santhankulam custodial torture and murder case, all of them were remanded to judicial custody. While sub inspector P Raghu Ganesh was arrested late on Wednesday night, three others -- Inspector Srithar, sub inspector Balakrishnan, and head constable S Murugan -- were nabbed subsequently on Thursday. All of them are now in Perurani district jail.
Meanwhile, the new IGP (South Zone), Dr S Murugan, on Thursday promised full support and cooperation to the CB-CID, probing the Sathankulam custody violence. The father-son duo, P Jeyaraj and Beniks, had died of multiple injuries a few days after the alleged custody torture. “The police department will not stand in support of the accused persons.
The Sathankulam incident is a lesson for the police department. There always have been instructions for every rank of police personnel to be followed, and they have to adhere to the rules,” Murugan said, after assuming charge and visiting Sathankulam.
The Thoothukudi SP will also extend full support to protect the woman head constable who has turned approver, he said. In another development, the daughter of Jeyaraj, Persis, appreciated the arrest of the accused police officials. She thanked the judges of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court and all those who raised their voices against the “custodial torture” inflicted upon her father and brother.
Residents and traders celebrate arrests
The pre-dawn arrests of the police officials brought residents and traders of Sathankulam out on the streets as they distributed sweets to the public and even burst crackers in on Thursday in various areas.