Excesses in police custody, need to determine accountability!
Awaz E Bihar••28 views•5 min read
Sarfaraz Ahmed Qasmi, Hyderabad Contact: 8099695186
In the first week of the current month, a court in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, sentenced nine police personnel to death in the case of the custodial death of merchant P.J. Raj and his son Jeyaraj. The death of Jeyaraj and his father occurred six years ago in the Thoothukudi district, which sparked widespread outrage across the country. The nine police personnel sentenced to death include Inspector Sridhar, Sub-Inspector Anbalagan Krishnan, and Raghuganesh, as well as other police personnel identified as Murugan, Samadurai, Muthuraja, Chelladurai, Thomas Francis, and Veilumuthu. The court clarified that this is a case of misuse of power, and there are many honest police personnel in Tamil Nadu, and the court's ruling will not create a sense of fear among police personnel.
The court stated that in this case, the father and son were stripped and brutally beaten, and there are clear indications of this. The CBI investigated the case and considered it an extremely rare and heinous incident, requesting the death penalty or life imprisonment without parole for the accused. The argument of the prosecution was that the nature of the crime is extremely serious, and three direct eyewitnesses were also examined in the case, which disturbed the conscience of society. The CBI stated that the victims were brutally beaten with weapons and subjected to extreme punishment, highlighting a serious violation of human rights.
The incident of the father and son's death in custody occurred on June 19, 2020. According to details, Jeyaraj and his son Banks ran a mobile shop and were arrested on the charge of keeping their shop open beyond the prescribed time during the lockdown, which was later proved false. They were transferred to the Sathankulam police station and later handed over to judicial custody, where they died a few days later. Relatives alleged that they were brutally beaten at the police station overnight and suffered severe injuries. The CBI started investigating the case on the direction of the Madras High Court and arrested 10 police personnel, charging them with murder.
During the investigation, a female constable stated that the father and son were beaten throughout the night, resulting in bloodstains on the tables and lathis. The CBI faced significant difficulties in gathering evidence, and the investigation involved examining a total of 100 eyewitnesses over five years. Recently, the police personnel were sentenced to death after the trial.
In 2021, the Kerala High Court stated that if action is taken against erring personnel, the entire force will fall in line. Justice Devan Ramachandran made this remark while hearing a petition filed by a youth in Kollam, who alleged that the police harassed him and put him in handcuffs at the station. The court expressed serious concern over the increasing number of complaints against police harassment and stated that unless police officers feel that they will be held accountable for their actions, nothing will change in the state.
In late January 2025, a special CBI court in Chandigarh sentenced eight police personnel, including Inspector General of Police Z. H. Zaidi, to life imprisonment in a custodial death case. The case pertained to the death of a person in police custody in July 2017. The CBI court found Zaidi and seven other police personnel guilty and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on them.
In September 2025, the Supreme Court stated that police officers should exercise their discretion to distinguish between civil and criminal cases. The court observed that the misuse of criminal law is a serious threat to the justice system. The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, expressed concern over the growing trend of converting civil disputes into criminal cases to expedite the resolution of complaints.
From the above incidents, it is clear that the responsibility of maintaining law and order lies with the police and administration. However, the police and administration are now voluntarily displaying bias and prejudice. The role of the RSS and its affiliates, sympathizers, supporters, and companions is being played with full enthusiasm, as evident from various incidents across the country. The police and administration consider Muslims and Christians as a headache and second-class citizens, which is not a good sign and is heading towards destruction.
The administration and police are now using their power to impose RSS ideologies, and there is no doubt that they are misusing their authority under the pretext of maintaining law and order. The increasing incidents of brutal atrocities in police custody are alarming and require the police department to be held accountable, which necessitates legislation for accountability.
A report by The Common Cause and Lokniti-CSDS has revealed how Muslims are unfairly targeted and killed in custody, but the police are not held accountable. In the world's largest democracy, India, the Muslim minority faces police brutality. A recent, disturbing report has highlighted the savage barbarity faced by Muslims, exposing deep-seated biases within law enforcement agencies that lead to unfair violence, custodial deaths, and widespread discriminatory treatment.
The report "State of Policing in India 2025 (SPIR)" by The Common Cause and Lokniti-CSDS brings to light a disturbing reality that police violence in the country has taken an organized form, with Muslims and other backward communities being the primary targets. It is essential to curb and address this issue.
