TN govt wants CBI to probe into Tuticorin deaths

The government has decided that the CBI will probe the case

SALEM (TN): The Tamil Nadu government has decided to transfer the probe into the death of a father-son duo, alleged victims of police torture in Tuticorin district, to the CBI, chief minister EK Palaniswami said Sunday.

The government’s decision will be informed to the Madras High Court, which is seized of the matter, and secure its approval before transferring the case to the central agency, he told reporters here.

“The government has decided that the CBI will probe the case,” Palaniswami said.

P Jayaraj and his son Fennix, arrested for ‘violating’ lockdown norms over business hours of their cellphone shop, died at a hospital in Kovilpatti on June 23, with their relatives alleging they were severely thrashed at the Sathankulam police station by police personnel earlier.

The incident has triggered a national furore, leading to the

EK PALANISWAMI, Chief minister

suspension of four policemen, including two sub- inspectors.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi o n Sunday expressed grief and regret over the death of a father- son duo in Tuticorin, allegedly after being thrashed by the police and demanded justice for the two.

He said he could not visit Sathankulam, where the incident happened last week, to personally comfort the family, due to the Covid-19 situation.

In an SMS sent to the party’s Shakti platform members in Tuticorin district, he said: “I was aggrieved over and regret the police action that was responsible for the death of Jayaraj and Fennix,” he said, according to a release issued by the Tamil Nadu Congress unit.