When democracy’s guardians become its biggest threat

Source: Salah Ait Mokhtar on Unsplash.com

A total of 170 custodial death cases have been reported across the country from January 1 to March 15, 2026. The principle of “innocent until proven guilty” is now a mockery; victims died without trial, left with tarnished names and families shamed. They were stripped of their rights by those sworn to uphold them—policemen. This irony underscores the main argument: when guardians of democracy commit acts antithetical to its purpose, democracy itself is in peril.

Jayaraj and Benniks were picked up on June 19, 2020, by Tamil Nadu police for allegedly keeping their mobile accessories shop open in violation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. It was a minor offence, keeping their store open for 15 minutes after curfew. Four days later, both men were found dead after allegedly being beaten, sexually assaulted and tortured at the hands of local police at the Sathankulam police station.

The brutality is said to have gone on for several hours. The two victims were stripped to increase the intensity of the beating. The stars on their uniforms were not enough to scare people; a flash of power was evidently necessary. Precisely, it was not a flash of power; it was a grotesque crime that blinded the eyes that witnessed it and the ones that read about it.

Both Jayaraj and Benniks, turn by turn, were made to bow down on a wooden table in their underwear only. Their hands and legs were held by accused police officials so that they were not able to defend themselves. They were like wolves among the outnumbered sheep, except they were humans capable of manslaughter.

While holding them in that position, they were subjected to severe beatings with a lathi on their buttocks, back and other parts of the body. Their lungis had to be changed multiple times as they were soaked in blood. In a country where it is estimated that 5 custodial deaths occur on a daily basis, its glory is silenced by the corpses that scream. “Help us get justice!” their wounds cry.

CBI cited 135 witnesses, examined 52, and, over a trial that spanned more than 5 years, pressed for the highest possible punishment. Multiple witnesses were not enough to secure swift justice for some reason. The highest degree of punishment was ‘demanded,’ time and again, India’s justice system has proved that demands walk executions at a snail’s pace, if they ever reach the start line, let alone the finish line.

The officers recruited for and entrusted with the public’s protection forgot their core ideal – Service. They were recruited to serve the public and solve crimes, not to abuse their power and prey on the defenceless.

Those convicted were just 9 officials. The tenth accused died of COVID-19 during the trial. One met his fate, and others are finally sentenced to it. But none will ever face the brutality they inflicted. In addition to the death sentences, the court ordered the police officers to jointly pay ₹1.40 crore in compensation to the deceased’s family. But how can pain be compensated monetarily? It’s abstract enough for the family to quiver at the gore descriptions of the father and son’s torture.

According to The Annual Report on Torture released by the National Campaign Against Torture in 2021, nearly 60% of the custodial deaths that occurred happened to people who were from the socioeconomically marginalised communities, which include Dalit castes and Adivasi tribes, minority religious communities and economically backward communities. Most of them were arrested for petty crimes like theft, burglary, gambling, and the unlicensed selling of liquor. Reports stated that their socioeconomic status made them easy targets. Communities were supposed to preserve culture, not become an instrument of torture.

Jeyaraj and Benniks belonged to the Christian Nadar community, one of the lower castes, and also to the minority religious community of the Tuticorin district in Tamil Nadu. They were also from an economically backwards background. One of the police inspectors involved in the matter had a reputation for beating up people who sided with the Nadar community, according to witnesses from the Tuticorin district. Humans have tastes and preferences naturally. What’s scary is humans’ preferences, including other humans, the existence of some being an issue to others.

According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, between 1999 and 2023, over 2,200 people died in police custody in India. However, convictions remain exceptionally rare, with no convictions recorded in custodial death cases between 2018 and 2023. It is because officials find ways to exempt themselves from accountability.

The abusers have been sentenced to death after a long 5-year wait, yet the corrupt system and discriminatory mindsets have not been subject to a trial. A democracy will not find its true guardians until the impostors’ masks are uncovered. Hence, the public insists on justice and transparency, the government should act like a true democracy — “For the people, by the people” — building a country where the delegation of power does not grant unchecked authority but purposeful responsibility to law enforcers.

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