Beniks was soft-spoken and gentle, recall his collegemates in Pollachi

COIMBATORE: Days after the custodial torture and death of Beniks, his collegemates in Pollachi on Sunday recalled that he was a taciturn person, with a helping mentality. Beniks had done his postgraduate studies at a private college in Pollachi. His friends are planning to visit his family at Sathankulam in Thoothukudi district and console them.
Beniks had done master’s in social work at Sree Saraswathi Thyagaraja College at Thippampatti in Pollachi in 2009-2011.His sudden death has left his classmates in deep grief.
P Manoranjitham, of Pattiyagoundanur near Pollachi, said Beniks used to be very calm and studious. “I haven’t seen him angry during the college days. Once he acted in a drama when our department organized a social work training camp at Kanjampatti village near Pollachi. His character was called Paulpandi and he acted well. He had won the hearts of villagers during the camp.”
Recalling that there was a fight in the college during one of the Pongal celebrations, Manoranjitham said it was the timely intervention of Beniks that facilitated the release of students who were picked up by police for inquiry. “A few students were picked up by Pollachi police for inquiry. Bennix acted swiftly and politely explained everything to police and brought them back to college.”
She said his batchmates were grief-stricken over his death. “It was gruesome.”
Another classmate G Arun Prasad, a businessman from Negamam, said Beniks hadn’t mingled with anyone in the first six months of joining the college. “He hailed from a poor family and his only objective was to work hard and earn good. He often told us that his parents and sisters were making a lot of sacrifices to educate him, and that he wanted to take care of them.”
He said Beniks used to often go to forests along with the classmates. “While returning from Valparai on motorcycles once, we came across a herd of elephants crossing the roads. We were afraid, but Beniks asked us to remain calm and requested us not to disturb the elephants. He knew how to handle a situation.”
Around 40 days ago, Arun said, Beniks had called him and chatted for a while. “He told me that his parents were searching for a bride for him.”