The incident sparked strikes and protests by Sathankulam shopkeepers against police brutality, attracting significant media coverage and celebrity attention.
Between 7:30 and 7:45pm, Jeyaraj's son Beniks, who had a mobile stand near the Kamarajar statue, was told of his father's arrest, and went to the police station with a friend.
The Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet would state that the door of the police station was locked, with both Jeyaraj and Beniks being subjected to several rounds of beatings and torture from 7:45 pm and 3 am the next day.
In spite of requiring a change of six lungis due to the profuse bleeding from their rectums, a medical fitness certificate was provided by Doctor Vennila.
After that, they were taken to Sathankulam Magistrate D Saravanan, who remanded the injured duo in custody without examining their physical condition or speaking with them directly as the result of COVID protocols.
[19] The order included a requirementto videograph the autopsy, which was to be done by a panel of three experts in the presence of a magistrate[20] after the police completed its inquest proceedings.
State Human Rights Commission Tamil Nadu has taken suo motu cognizance of the offence and asked the Police Department to file a reply in this regard.
We need to use our collective voices to seek #JusticeForJayarajandBennicks” Celebrities, politicians, and several notable people used social media to reveal the details of the attack and condemn the police action.
[23][24] Celebrities, including Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Suchitra, Siddharth, Khushbu, Jayam Ravi, Karthik Subbaraj, D. Imman, Suriya used the hashtag.
[29][30] Kanimozhi, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha for the Thoothukudi Constituency said the incident was a collective failure of police and other officials and a gross violation of human rights.
” During the pendency of the autopsy inquiry, Magistrate M S Bharathidasan submitted a report to the High Court describing rude behaviour by Constable Maharajan at the Sathankulam police station.
The High Court also directed the Thoothukudi district collector to depute revenue officials and take control of the police station to enable the magistrate to collect the necessary documents.
[38][39] On 8 July 2020, the Office of the Additional Chief Secretary issued an order disbanding the Friends of Police movement in the whole of Tamil Nadu.