In her eyewitness statement, Sathankulam Police Station’s head constable Revathy told the Judicial Magistrate of Kovilpatti that the father-son duo at Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu was beaten the whole night, and there were bloodstains on lathis.
Her statement was video-recorded.
“In our opinion, the ante-mortem injuries found on the bodies of the deceased, coupled with the averments in the report of the learned Judicial Magistrate No.1, Kovilpatti, especially the statement of Revathy, Head Constable, would be prima facie enough to alter the case to one under Section 302 IPC against the Sathankulam policemen who were actively involved in the investigation of the case in Cr.No.312 of 2020. In this regard, it would be in the interests of justice to have the statement of Revathy, Head Constable, recorded under Section 164 Cr.P.C. by a Judicial Magistrate, other than the Judicial Magistrate No.1, Kovilpatti and Judicial Magistrate, Sathankualm.” the Magistrate M.S. Bharathidasan said in the report.
The Magistrate also said that the District Collector, Tuticorin, shall immediately ensure the safety of Revathy and her family members.
“She may even be granted leave from duty as we fear that there will be an attempt to intimidate her and make her resile from her version given to the learned Judicial Magistrate No.I, Kovilpatti.” the report reads.
Reports say that as Revathi was scared to speak, the Magistrate deployed the court staff in front of the police e station for her protection.
Despite that, the policemen, who had been present outside the station, continued to disturb the proceedings by bullying the court staff and had tried to listen in on Revathi’s statement, Judicial Magistrate said in the report.
When the Magistrate asked Revathy to sign her statement, she denied and said she was scared of the consequences. However, the Magistrate managed to make her sign the statement after assuring her of proper protection.
The High Court ordered that protection be provided to head constable Revathy.
Revathy mentioned the policemen ASP D. Kumar, DSP C. Prathaban, and constable Maharajan in her statement.
According to the report filed by the judicial Magistrate before the Madras High Court, a team of court staff, led by Magistrate, has been harassed and threatened by police personnel at police station.
