The two were picked up for questioning by cops of the Sathankulam police station for allegedly violating lockdown rules. They later died in police custody. On June 19th, Jayaraj and Bennicks, 31 (mistakenly referred to as Fenix) were taken into custody for keeping the mobile accessories shop beyond permissible hours. On June 22, Bennicks fell ill and was moved to the Kovilpatti General Hospital where he died. A day later, his father also died. The allegation is that they thrashed and tortured by the police while in custody, leading to their deaths. Some media reports also suggest that the duo was sexually assaulted in police custody.
Voicing their opinions various public figures to social media to express their grief.
Actress Sanam Shetty is the latest to join the list. The actress has infact lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of India. “I have officially registered my complaint against the accused police officers in the Jeyraj and Bennicks case (the name was wrongly mentioned earlier by the press now corrected) with the Human Rights Commission of India. Dear friends I request all of you to raise the complaint which will certainly increase chances for effective action in the issue🙏The link for web complaint registration as below:
https://hrcnet.nic.in/HRCNet/public/webcomplaint.aspx. Please use the weblink to fill in details and submit. Check my story to goto the link directly.You will receive an sms as registration confirmation. Names, place and incident details can be found in all the news writeups regarding the issue. #justiceforjeyrajandfenix #murdercharges #humanrightscommission #humanrightscomplaint #doyourbit,” the actress tweeted.
From Khushbu Sundar and Kamal Haasan to Aishwarya Rajesh and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, many stars have strongly condemned the act. Actor Suriya has in fact released a strong-worded press statement condemning the action:
’நீதி நிலைநிறுத்தப்படும்’ என்று நம்புவோம். #JusticeForJayarajandBennicks pic.twitter.com/oAgZbZVe9h
— Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) June 27, 2020