Rajkumar abduction: Erode court acquits 9 men after 18 years
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Erode:26.09.2018
Eighteen years after Kannada thespian Rajkumar was kidnapped by forest brigand Veerappan and his men, the court hearing the case acquitted nine of the accused on Tuesday.
Third additional district judge (ADJ) of Gobichettipalayam sub-court in Erode district K Mani said the prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the men. The judge stated that there was no evidence provided by the prosecution establishing the link between the accused and Veerappan, who was the prime accused. Giving the benefit of doubt, the judge said he was acquitting the nine men.
While defence counsel Bhavani B Mohan welcomed the verdict, the prosecution is likely to go for an appeal. “We are waiting for the judgment. After reading the judgment we will hold discussion with the senior government officials as well as CBCID and move for appeal,’’ said public prosecutor T Dhanakottiram.
The acquitted were S Maran, 48, S Govindaraj, 46, D Andril, 45, R Selvam, 43, K Amirthalingam, 43, P Pasavanna, 57, R Nagaraj, 47, C Puddusamy, 53, and S Rama, 52. They were charged under several counts of the IPC, including abduction for ransom and criminal conspiracy.
BLAST FROM PAST:Kannada actor Rajkumar was abducted from his farmhouse in Thoddakanjanur village in TN on July 30, 2000, by Veerappan and his aides
Court: Prosecution did not produce evidence
Veerappan abducted Rajkumar on July 30, 2000 from his farm house at Thoddakanjanur near Thalavadi in Erode district. Veerappan kept the actor under his custody for 108 days and released him only after multiple rounds of negotiations by Pazha Nedumaran and Nakkeeran Gopal who were sent as emissaries.
Thalavadi police who registered the case took up the investigation. Later, the case was transferred to the CBCID-Coimbatore in 2011. They submitted a charge sheet with the Gobichettipalayam sub-court in the same year. The case was under trail for 18 years and two months.
A total of 10 judges heard the case, including K Mani.
On September 17, ADJ Mani announced that he would give a verdict in this case on Tuesday. Mani, who pronounced the verdict in the packed court hall, noted in the judgment that there was no material evidence or eyewitnesses to prove that these nine persons were involved in the abduction case. The judge pulled up the prosecution as well as the CBCID for failing to come up with a watertight case. He said the prosecution did not produce even a shred of evidence to prove that the nine accused were linked to Veerappan.
“The judge raised questions on the reason for not investigating Rajkumar and his wife Parvathammal. He asked why the CBCID had not questioned government interlocutors Pazha Nedumaran and Nakeeran Gopal,’’ said defence counsel Bhavani B Mohan.
The accused as well as their relatives who had gathered in the court cheered the verdict and distributed sweets to each other.
The names of 14 persons were registered in the FIR. However, four people including Veerappan and his accomplices ‘Sethukuzhi’ Govindan, Sandhana Gowda and Mallu, were killed in a police encounter on October 18, 2004. Out of the remaining 11 accused, one – Ramesh - is still absconding and one more died leaving the nine to face trial.
A total of 47 persons appeared before the ADJ as witnesses in addition to material evidences. “As far as we are concerned, we have argued the case by producing oral and documentary evidence,’’ said Dhanakotiram.
› Related report, P 9 On September 17, ADJ Mani announced that he would give a verdict on Tuesday. Mani, who pronounced the verdict, noted in the judgment that there was no material evidences or eyewitnesses to prove that these nine people were involved in the abduction case
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Erode:26.09.2018
Eighteen years after Kannada thespian Rajkumar was kidnapped by forest brigand Veerappan and his men, the court hearing the case acquitted nine of the accused on Tuesday.
Third additional district judge (ADJ) of Gobichettipalayam sub-court in Erode district K Mani said the prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the men. The judge stated that there was no evidence provided by the prosecution establishing the link between the accused and Veerappan, who was the prime accused. Giving the benefit of doubt, the judge said he was acquitting the nine men.
While defence counsel Bhavani B Mohan welcomed the verdict, the prosecution is likely to go for an appeal. “We are waiting for the judgment. After reading the judgment we will hold discussion with the senior government officials as well as CBCID and move for appeal,’’ said public prosecutor T Dhanakottiram.
The acquitted were S Maran, 48, S Govindaraj, 46, D Andril, 45, R Selvam, 43, K Amirthalingam, 43, P Pasavanna, 57, R Nagaraj, 47, C Puddusamy, 53, and S Rama, 52. They were charged under several counts of the IPC, including abduction for ransom and criminal conspiracy.
BLAST FROM PAST:Kannada actor Rajkumar was abducted from his farmhouse in Thoddakanjanur village in TN on July 30, 2000, by Veerappan and his aides
Court: Prosecution did not produce evidence
Veerappan abducted Rajkumar on July 30, 2000 from his farm house at Thoddakanjanur near Thalavadi in Erode district. Veerappan kept the actor under his custody for 108 days and released him only after multiple rounds of negotiations by Pazha Nedumaran and Nakkeeran Gopal who were sent as emissaries.
Thalavadi police who registered the case took up the investigation. Later, the case was transferred to the CBCID-Coimbatore in 2011. They submitted a charge sheet with the Gobichettipalayam sub-court in the same year. The case was under trail for 18 years and two months.
A total of 10 judges heard the case, including K Mani.
On September 17, ADJ Mani announced that he would give a verdict in this case on Tuesday. Mani, who pronounced the verdict in the packed court hall, noted in the judgment that there was no material evidence or eyewitnesses to prove that these nine persons were involved in the abduction case. The judge pulled up the prosecution as well as the CBCID for failing to come up with a watertight case. He said the prosecution did not produce even a shred of evidence to prove that the nine accused were linked to Veerappan.
“The judge raised questions on the reason for not investigating Rajkumar and his wife Parvathammal. He asked why the CBCID had not questioned government interlocutors Pazha Nedumaran and Nakeeran Gopal,’’ said defence counsel Bhavani B Mohan.
The accused as well as their relatives who had gathered in the court cheered the verdict and distributed sweets to each other.
The names of 14 persons were registered in the FIR. However, four people including Veerappan and his accomplices ‘Sethukuzhi’ Govindan, Sandhana Gowda and Mallu, were killed in a police encounter on October 18, 2004. Out of the remaining 11 accused, one – Ramesh - is still absconding and one more died leaving the nine to face trial.
A total of 47 persons appeared before the ADJ as witnesses in addition to material evidences. “As far as we are concerned, we have argued the case by producing oral and documentary evidence,’’ said Dhanakotiram.
› Related report, P 9 On September 17, ADJ Mani announced that he would give a verdict on Tuesday. Mani, who pronounced the verdict, noted in the judgment that there was no material evidences or eyewitnesses to prove that these nine people were involved in the abduction case
No comments:
Post a Comment