Former Superintendent of Police of Thoothukudi district Arun Balagopalan — who was transferred out of his post following the custodial deaths of Jeyaraj and Bennix — has been posted as SP, Cyber Crimes Division in Chennai. The senior police officer was slammed for the alleged police torture and subsequent death of the father and son duo which shocked the country in June.
Arun Balagopalan’s appointment came on Wednesday as part of the reshuffle of nine IPS officers in the state. The IPS officer was placed in the Chief Office vacancy reserve after he was shunted out on June 30. He came under severe criticism for not taking swift action against the police officers at the Sathankulam station where Jeyaraj and Bennix were allegedly assaulted.
After news of the father-son duo’s deaths sparked massive outrage, Arun Balagopalan suspended sub-inspectors Balakrishnan and P Raghuganesh who had allegedly brutally tortured Jeyaraj and Bennix. The SP also put the inspector of the station, Sridhar, on waitlist and suspended him later.
When the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court took suo motu cognisance of the case, Arun informed the court that disciplinary action has been initiated against the two constables Murugan and Muthuraj, who were also accused of playing a major role in causing physical injuries to Jeyaraj and Bennix.
Additional SP D Kumar and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) C Prathaban were also put on waitlist by the SP. The two police officers were given new postings within a day of them being transferred to the waitlist. While D Kumar was posted as the Additional SP in the Prohibition Enforcement Wing in the Nilgiris, C Prathaban was posted as the DSP in the Anti-land Grabbing Cell in Pudukkottai.
Arun Balagopalan was replaced by S Jeyakumar, who was the SP of Villupuram.
The case relates to the deaths of Jeyaraj and Bennix from Sathankulam while in judicial custody after they were picked up by the local police for allegedly keeping their shop open beyond curfew timings. The duo were detained by the police on June 19 and allegedly physically assaulted by the police at the Sathankulam station before being taken to the Kovilpatti jail on June 20. While Bennix died on June 22, Jeyaraj died on June 23 in the hospital.
It was further revealed that sub inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghuganesh had a history of allegations of custodial violence against them and had repeatedly gotten away with their violent behaviour.
The custodial deaths case of Jeyaraj and Bennix was initially taken over by the CB-CID on the orders of the High Court and around ten policemen were booked under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 302 for murder, and arrested by the CB-CID. The CBI then took over the probe and are investigating the case.