Kamal Haasan Hails Verdict on Sathankulam custody death case, Calls for End to Custodial Brutality

Chennai: Actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan has responded to the court verdict sentencing nine police personnel to death in the Sathankulam custody death case, calling for the complete elimination of atrocities committed against innocent people in the name of authority. In a Facebook post, he described the brutal torture inflicted on Jayaraj and his son Bennicks — taken into custody on June 19, 2020, on charges of violating Covid restrictions — and their subsequent deaths as a shocking injustice that shook the nation.

Kamal Haasan praised the family members, the people of Sathankulam, social activists, and CBI officials who fought relentlessly for justice, calling their perseverance worthy of the highest admiration. He described the cruelty perpetrated by those who know the law and bear the responsibility of protecting the public as heartbreaking.

While welcoming the verdict, the actor-politician made clear that he is personally opposed to capital punishment, stating that his position is that those guilty of heinous crimes should be imprisoned for life under the harshest conditions without any concessions. He also expressed concern for the families of the convicted, who he noted would themselves be made to suffer for the inhuman acts of their kin.

The actor also demanded accountability for all others complicit in the case — the doctor who issued a certificate without examining the bodies, the official who ordered their remand, officers who attempted to suppress the facts, and those in authority who unconscionably claimed that both victims had died of suffocation.