The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the CB-CID to submit a status report on the investigation into the custodial torture case of Mahendran. The allegation of custodial torture has been levelled against the same Sattankulam police personnel involved in the custodial deaths of trader P. Jayaraj and his son J. Benicks.
Justice R. Pongiappan directed the CB-CID to submit the status report with regard to the progress made in the investigation on August 7. Earlier, the State government had informed the court that the CB-CID had taken over the investigation into the case. The incident was reported to have occurred before the custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Benicks.
In her petition, S. Vadivu, the mother of Mahendran, alleged that her son was tortured by Sattankulam police in the name of inquiry, in which he sustained injuries on his head and private parts. The police personnel also threatened her of dire consequences if she spoke of the police torture to anyone.
After Mahendran was let off, he was taken to Government Thoothukudi Medical College and Hospital as he complained of giddiness and pain. The CT scan report revealed a blood clot in his brain. Later, he succumbed to his injuries, she said, and added that the family was forced to receive the body without the the post-mortem done.
She said the villagers had complained to the Collector, the Superintendent of Police and other officials, but no action was taken against the police personnel. Had her complaint been looked into seriously by the officials, the deaths of Jayaraj and Benicks could have been avoided, she added.
