The distressing news of the deaths of P. Jayaraj and J. Bennix , father and son, allegedly at the hands of the Santhankulam police in south...
The distressing news of the deaths of P. Jayaraj and J. Bennix, father and son, allegedly at the hands of the Santhankulam police in southern Tamil Nadu, has now been condemned on the streets, on social media, and in news outlets across the country. Responding to the popular furore, the state government has urged swift action against the concerned policemen – capturing absconders, transferring the station personnel to other districts, and entrusting the torture investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Over the past fortnight, journalists and political leaders have drawn attention to a history of custodial violence at the same police station, indicating a pattern of abuse rather than an isolated incident. More damningly, human rights reports show that far from being limited to one station in one part of the country, custodial violence is a routine occurrence across India. In short, police violence is systemic.
A long history
One factor that has especially angered many is the triviality of the offence for which Jayaraj and Bennix were arrested – they had kept their shop open for a little longer than permitted under the current pandemic guidelines. Based on ten years of studying archival records of police torture in this region, I would argue that this too is quite normal....
