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A woman constable, Revathi who was also present at the time of brutal attack by her fellow police, came forward to reveal details of the incident.

When Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K.Palaniswami on Sunday said that the case of custodial deaths of Jayaraj and Bennicks in Sathankulam Police station would be sent to CBI, Kovilpatti judge magistrate on the other hand, has been struggling to collect the information about the case, as order by Madras High Court.

Just when, the Chief Minister has announced on Monday an order to transfer the case to CBI, the judge magistrate, MS. Bharatidasan has come up with a detailed report on the case which revealed shocking details.

How did the Magistrate gather the details?

Here’s the story behind his struggle to gather details for his report.

• The magistrate, Bharatidasan has started his investigation on June 23 and he visited the Sathankulam police station on June 28.
• The enquiry lasted for about 15 hours and he mentioned that the police at the station had not acknowledged his visit and even failed to salute.
• When asked for the documents, the staff had showcased a muscle-flexing attitude and recklessly asked the staff to get them.
• The report read that, a woman constable, Revathi who was willing to divulge the details was intimidated as the remaining staff had asked her not to say it.
• As she was giving her statement to the magistrate, the policemen were peeping into the room while standing under the tree though the magistrate had assigned two court staff outside the room so she could record her statement confidently.
• The magistrate had said that Revati refused to sign the statement with fear. After the magistrate had ensured her safety, she had signed the statement.
• He also said that the police created a disruptive environment and made the recording process very difficult.
• A Policeman named, Maharajan passed on a comment to the magistrate saying “you can’t do anything”.
• The woman constable, Revathi said that Jayaraj and Bennicks were beaten up all night and the lathis of policemen and the seats of vehicles which carried the father and son duo were full of blood.
• Revathi had also suggested the magistrate to collect all evidences before Police could destroy them.
• The statement also read that, all the CCTV footage from June 19 has been erased. The settings were done in a manner that all the files get auto-deleted.
• After recording the statement, the magistrate had ensured safety to the woman constable and may be granted leave from duty as here might be an attempt to intimidate her.

By Gayatri Yellayi