Orders reserved on accused cop's bail plea in custody death case

Madurai: Madras high court on Thursday reserved orders on the bail plea of suspended sub-inspector of police (SI) Raghu Ganesh who was arrested in connection with the custodial deaths of P Jeyaraj and his son J Beniks at Sathankulam in Tuticorin district in 2020.

The court had in Sept 2023 dismissed his earlier bail application. The SI has been in jail since 2020 but the trial in the case before the I additional district court in Madurai is nowhere near completion, his counsel said while seeking bail for the petitioner.

However, the CBI special public prosecutor submitted that the investigating officer would be the last witness to be examined. Hence, he stated that bail should not be granted to the petitioner at this stage.

Counsel for Jeyaraj's wife Selvarani also opposed grant of bail saying there is apprehension that he might influence witnesses. Taking into account the submissions, Justice K Murali Shankar reserved orders on the plea. Following the custodial deaths of the father-son duo at Sathankulam station in 2020, 10 policemen (presently suspended) including inspector Sridhar, SIs Balakrishnan, Raghu Ganesh, head constables Murugan, A Samadurai, constables M Muthuraja, S Chelladurai, X Thomas Francis, S Veilmuthu and SSI Paldurai were arrested.

The CBI after completing investigation has filed the final report against nine policemen following SSI Paldurai's death from Covid-19. All the accused are lodged in Madurai central prison.