Father-Son duo thrashed all night by Sathankulam police personnel, says woman cop
Tuticorin(TN): Personnel at the Sathankulam police station here thrashed a deceased father-son duo the whole night there, with lathis used for allegedly assaulting them and a table carrying blood stains, a woman head constable attached to the station has told a judicial probe.
Mentioning Head Constable Revathy's statement in a four-page report to the Madras High Court Madurai Bench, the Judicial Magistrate probing the deaths said she feared receiving threat if she revealed the facts.
The Madras High Court, which has taken up the matter of the death of the duo-- P Jeyaraj and Bennicks, alleged victims of police torture, had on Tuesday transferred the probe to the CB-CID under DSP Anil Kumar.
It had also ordered protection for Revathy and her family.
In her statement, Revathy told the JM that the two persons were "beaten up the entire night by police personnel there (Sathankulam PS) using lathis."
"..due to this there were blood stains on the lathis and a table and she said they (stains) should be collected immediately as they (policemen) could try to erase them," the report said.
The JM alleged non-cooperation by the personnel at the police station, including when he sought handing over of the lathis and said the cops heeded to his demand only after being 'compelled'.
One of them even fled the place by scaling a wall when sought for his lathi.
He further submitted that Revathy did not sign on her statement immediately and did so after a long time upon being assured of her safety.
Her statement was "recorded carefully", even as she was apprehensive of receiving threat if she revealed the truth.
The JM said that throughout his stay at the station on June 28, the police did not cooperate and one of them displayed "macho and intimidating body language", even as a constable made disparaging remarks against him later.
Incidentally, three personnel, ASP D Kumar, DSP C Prathapan and the constable Maharajan had on Tuesday appeared before the High Court on being summoned by it over the matter.
The constable told the court he was "overstressed" and had made the remark against the Judicial Magistrate by mistake.
The JM further stated that the settings of the CCTV hard disk in the police station, despite having sufficient space of one terabyte, were configured in a way that the day's footage will be "automatically deleted."
The High Court had earlier said that from the report filed by the Judicial Magistrate, it was able to discern that the Sathankulam police were taking advantage of the fact the investigation of the case was in limbo and were attempting to cause disappearance of evidence.
They were emboldened enough to even intimidate the JM during the investigation in the station, Justices P N Prakash and B Pugalendhi had noted.
The original statement of the Revathy should also be given to the DSP Anil Kumar.
Jayaraj and his son Bennicks, arrested for 'violating' lockdown norms over business hours of their cellphone shop, died at a hospital in Kovilpatti on June 23, with the relatives alleging that they were severely thrashed at the Sathankulam police station by the personnel earlier.
The incident had triggered a nation-wide furore, leading to the suspension of five policemen, including an inspector and two Sub-Inspectors.
The Superintendent of Police had been shunted out of Tuticorin and put on compulsory wait. All the personnel posted at Sathankulam police station earlier have been transferred out.
The probe into the case has been since transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Tamil Nadu government, though the Court transferred the case to the CB- CID till CBI took over, fearin evidence may disappear.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
