Thousands of people in Sathakulam, a place in the Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, took to the streets to pay their respects for Jayaraj and Fenix, the father-son duo who were brutally tortured and killed while in police custody. There is a wide protest emerged in social media demanding justice for Jayaraj and Fenix.
From May 19, many in the district have been demanding justice for Jayaraj and Fenix. As the father-son duo’s coffins were carried from their residence, many people gathered to say their goodbyes.
Jayaraj and Fenix were one amongst the general public, ordinary middle-class individuals who were tortured and allegedly killed in police custody for one violation – keeping their mobile store open beyond the permitted time during the coronavirus lockdown.
Jayaraj (59) and his son Fenix Emmanuel (31) ran a mobile shop in Tuticorin. On June 19, around 8:15 pm Jayaraj was pulled up by the Sathankulam police officials who were on patrol. They upbraided him for exceeding the curfew by 15 minutes. On Saturday, Jayaraj was taken in by the police and soon after his son Fenix was arrested too when he went to enquire about his father’s arrest.
The two of them were booked under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 353 (use of force to deter public servant from duty) 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and 506(2) (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
In custody, they were allegedly tortured. They were later released and taken to a hospital where a doctor declared them fit despite eyewitnesses reporting that they beaten up and still bleeding.
The Sathankulam police then approached magistrate B Saravanan for the remand of Jayaraj and Fenix. The magistrate allegedly gave the remand order without physically seeing the father-son duo, which is required to ascertain if detainees are injured.
Fenix’s lawyer who was there in the station when the police officials hit the father-son duo had a horrifying tale to share.
Advocate S Manimaran, an eyewitness to the brutality said, “We were standing out and we were seeing the whole incident from outside through a glass gate. Fenix and his father were beaten. In the morning there was blood all over the place where they were sitting.”
He added that Fenix was beaten so brutally, his flesh was ripped off.
He said, “I gave them four clothes to change. We had laid down a blanket in the seat of the car when we went to pick them up, Fenix had lost a lot of flesh on his back. He was a well-built man. The car driver was in tears seeing their state. The spot where Fenix sat was covered with blood, the place where Jayaraj was sitting was also all blood. The blankets are still with us. They were beaten to death.”
Other eyewitnesses have also claimed that Jayaraj and Fenix were bleeding from their rectum and were allegedly sodomised while in prison.
Jayaraj and his son were later produced before the magistrate and the duo was sent to Kovilpatti sub-jail. That evening, both the father and son were taken to the Kovilpatti government hospital. Fenix died on Monday evening and the following morning Jayaraj succumbed to respiratory illness.
Ever since the news of the deaths first broke, the district of Tuticorin has seen widespread turmoil and protests have broken out in several parts of Tamil Nadu. Across the state several trader union bodies, political outfits, activists, have staged protests against the death of the duo. In Tuticorin, traders downed shutters, protests were held throughout the week.
Celebrities, too, have taken to social media demanding that action be taken against those involved in the death of the duo.
Jayaraj’s wife Selvarani has lodged a complaint and has alleged police brutality as the cause of death of her husband and son.
Famous Tamil radio jockey RJ Suchitra, who made a video on the brutalities endured by the father-son duo also claimed that they were beaten so badly their knee caps were broken and that they were sexually abused and left bleeding in the jail. Her video went viral and has now led to momentum on social media with #JusticeForJayarajAndFenix trending on Twitter.
On social media, many have been drawing a parallel between the death of the duo with the death of African-American George Floyd in the US and are demanding justice. People have been demanding that murder charges be filed against those involved in the tragic death of the two people.
