Indian Court Hands Down Death Penalty to Nine Police Officers Over Covid Lockdown Custodial Killings
In a landmark ruling, an Indian court has sentenced nine police officers to death for the custodial deaths of a father and son during the Covid-19 pandemic. The case, which had ignited widespread national outrage and intensified scrutiny of police brutality, concluded with the judge describing the killings as a grave abuse of power.
Details of the Tragic Incident
P Jeyaraj, a 58-year-old trader, and his 31-year-old son J Benicks died within days of being detained during the Covid lockdown in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Police had accused them of keeping their mobile phone shop open beyond permitted hours, an allegation that investigators later determined was unfounded.
Delivering the ruling on Monday, the trial judge placed the case in the "rarest of the rare" category, a legal threshold reserved for the most extreme crimes in India. "They did this with the intention of killing," the judge stated, emphasising the deliberate nature of the violence.
Brutal Torture and Cover-Up Attempts
According to the prosecution, the two men were stripped and tortured through the night at the Sattankulam police station, often in front of each other. "Where there was power there should be responsibility. Jayaraj and Benicks were unarmed and were tortured at regular intervals all through the night at the police station," the judge said.
The court found that the violence was not incidental but deliberate, carried out as retribution after a confrontation with officers. Investigators from the Central Bureau of Investigation, the federal agency that took over the case amid public pressure, concluded that the officers tortured the father and son to "teach them a lesson on how to behave with the police."
Evidence presented in court also revealed attempts to cover up the crime, including forcing the victims to clean their own blood and destroying material evidence.
Convictions and Sentencing
Ten officers were originally charged, but one died during the trial after contracting Covid. The remaining nine were convicted last month of murder, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence. In his ruling, the trial judge remarked: "The police personnel were mentally sound and well educated. They were drawing government salaries. Those who should protect and safeguard the public acted in such a manner. It was a case of the fence eating the crop."
The court also imposed fines totalling more than Rs 10 million (£81,000) on the convicted officers.
Broader Context and National Impact
The case sparked widespread protests across Tamil Nadu in 2020, with politicians, activists, and public figures demanding accountability. The deaths became a flashpoint in a broader debate about custodial violence in India, where rights groups report that hundreds of people die in custody each year and allegations of torture remain persistent.
While India retains the death penalty, executions are rare, with the last carried out in 2020. That execution involved four men convicted for the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi, a case that drew global attention to sexual violence in India.
This ruling underscores ongoing concerns about police misconduct and the judicial system's response to such extreme abuses of power.
