The landmark verdict by the Madurai Court on the 2020 Sathankulam police custodial deaths case was made possible in part due to the testimony of a woman cop. Constable R Revathi was one of the main witnesses who had testified against her 10 colleagues involved in the deaths of trader P Jayaraj and his son Bennicks on June 19, 2020.
Revathi has been a policewoman for about 21 years. On the day of the incident 6 years ago, she was on night duty at the Sathakulam police station in Thoothukudi. She was 37 at the time.
When the investigation began, she stepped up and said that she would reveal the truth of what occurred if she, her two daughters and her husband were granted protection.
Recounting the events after the Madras High Court delivered its verdict, Revathi told The New Indian Express that she did what was obvious. She said that “everyone is equal before the law”.
The court has now sentenced all nine policemen to death and imposed a fine of Rs 1.4 crore.
On the incident, she said, “I have never witnessed such cruelty.”
“The police excess began after Beniks stopped constable Muthuraj from attacking his father, and the shirt button of the constable fell off in the action,” she said. She had attempted to stop the policemen from beating the father and son, but they refused. At one point, she had to leave the room because she was unable to stand the brutality of the policemen and the screams of the victims.
During the investigation, she described what happened that night...
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