Sathankulam Horror: A Conviction and a Reminder on India’s long march to Custodial Justice

Six years after a father and son were brutally tortured and killed in custody, a trial court has finally convicted nine Tamil Nadu policemen. But amidst a breakdown of accountability institutions across India, what does the future of custodial violence in India look like?

CUSTODIAL VIOLENCE has been a never-ending saga in India. Recent figures from the NHRC reveal that only since the beginning of this year, as of March 15, there had been 170 recorded custodial deaths. During this time, Tamil Nadu has seen a series of 4 custodial tortures leading to death. Under a government that boasts of its stance on social justice, these deaths raise immense discomfort, doubt and concern. Hardly two days after the UN expert condemned the situation of torture in India, Tamil Nadu recorded its twenty sixth custodial death under the regime of the present government. This year, within the span of two months, four of those killed in custodial violence in Tamil Nadu hailed from Dalit communities. 

At the same time, recently a judgment in a criminal trial on a custodial torture and death case, that shook national conscience in 2020, has been greatly welcomed. In a state, and a country, where there is no law against torture, even after signing the UN Convention Against Torture (‘UNCAT’) in 1997, the decision reinstates a sense of faith in the judicial institutions.

The Sathankulam Horror

On June 19, 2020, in the town of Sathankulam in Tamil Nadu, Jeyaraj was picked up by the police for having his shop open after the imposed curfew during the COVID-19 lockdown. Shortly after, his son Bennicks went to the police station to inquire about the arrest of his father, while he was illegally detained. From the night of June 19 until the early morning of the following day, June 20, the father-son duo were subjected to brutal torture under the orders of the Station House Officer. They were beaten with lathis and iron rods, leading to profuse bleeding. Investigation reveals that they were forced to wipe the blood stains from the floor of the police station using their own clothes in order to hide the evidence. 

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