The death of two men in Tamil Nadu after three days in police custody has sparked outrage on social media and amongst political leaders in the state. The two -- Jayaraj and his son Fenix had died within 10 hours of each other, allegedly due to police torture.
On Friday, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh for the bereaved family.
The police claims however does not seem to match other accounts, including that of eyewitnesses. On June 19, police officials in Tamil Nadu claimed that they had found a shop violating the curfew. According to them, the owners -- Jayaraj and Fenix -- had revolted and had abused them. Reportedly, an FIR had been registered against the duo after they were brought to the police station.
As per the FIR quoted by The News Minute, "Jayaraj and Fenix sat on the ground and abused us verbally and rolled on the ground. In this, they suffered internal injuries".
Three days later, they were both dead.
Reports suggest that the the police manhandled Jayaraj prompting his son to intervene. According to The Free Press Journal's Dravida Thambi, they had allegedly been beaten up by two sub-inspectors, and one individual who claimed to have been an eyewitness said that Fenix had been sexually abused.
Later, after being remanded in police custody, Fenix had complained of uneasiness and had been rushed to the hospital. He passed away soon after, and his father died a few hours later.
While the two sub-inspectors had been suspended, outraged netizens have called for more proactive action to be taken. Many have also drawn a parallel to the George Floyd murder in the US, urging a response similar to the earlier incident.
Others have urged social media users to create greater awareness about the incident.
Take a look at some of the posts:
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