The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday dismissed the bail petitions of four police personnel accused in the Sattankulam custodial deaths case of P. Jayaraj and his son J. Benicks.
Justice M. Nirmal Kumar dismissed the bail petitions of Ragu Ganesh, Murugan, Muthuraj and Thomas Francis. Their earlier bail petitions were dismissed by High Court on the ground that there were prima facie materials available against them in the case.
The family members of the deceased had filed intervening petitions opposing the grant of bail to the accused. They apprehended that if the accused were granted bail, they could influence the witnesses and tamper with the evidence in the case.
The High Court last week had ordered the trial court in Madurai to complete the trial in the Sattankulam custodial deaths case in six months. The court directed that the trial should be conducted in a cautious manner given that it was a sensitive case.
