Court acquits 109 TADA detenus

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, SEPT. 29. The Special TADA Court here today sentenced 14 of the 123 TADA accused who were on trial for their complicity with the forest brigand, Veerappan, and acquitted the rest of the detenus.

Pronouncing the judgment in a packed court hall which was fortified with security arrangements, the Special TADA Court Judge, Mr. D. Krishnappa, sentenced seven persons to life imprisonment for their complicity with Veerappan. Seven others were found guilty of related offences including possession of arms without license in the notified areas.

However, six of the 14 persons convicted were set free as they were incarcerated during the trial for a period longer than the punishment under the law for proven charges. Rama alias Ravana, who was in custody for two years before being released on bail, will undergo imprisonment for three more years as the law decrees five years of imprisonment for the proven charges.

The Special TADA Court tried 123 persons who were arrested in connection with the Ramapura Police Station case, the Harikrishna and Shakeel murder case, the Palar blast, and the Gopal Hosur case.

Five police men were killed by Veerappan and his gang when they attacked the Ramapura Police Station in May 1992. Harikrishna, Superintendent of Police, and Shakeel Ahmed, Sub- Inspector, were killed in Meenyam forests in Kollegal on August 14, 1992, by the brigand and his men. In April 1993, Veerappan set off a landmine killing 22 members of the STF while a police party led by Gopal Hosur was also ambushed in May 1993.

While Veeraswamy was convicted in the Ramapura police station case, and awarded life imprisonment, Gnanprakash and Meesakara Madhaian were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Palar blast case. Simon, ``Watchman'' Kaliyappan, Bilavendran, and Shekara were convicted in the Harikrishna and Shakeel murder case and sentenced to life in jail. Simon, Kaliyappan, and Bilavendran were also convicted in the other two cases.

The Judge ruled that the life sentences would run concurrently.

Chinnakanna, Ramachari, Chikkudukachari, Rangaswamiachari, Devoji Naika, and Gulappa alias Bilivendran, who were found guilty in the Gopal Hosur case, were set free since the period of their incarceration was longer than the jail sentence decreed by law for proven charges.

The Judge observed that though the cases could be classified under the ``rarest of rare'' category, the accused, who were proved to be involved with Veerappan, were victims of circumstances, and they could not be given capital punishment.

The Government had invoked the provisions of TADA, the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, and the Explosive Substance Act on all the 123 accused following the Ramapura Police Station incident. A charge-sheet was filed only in 1994. The TADA court granted bail to some of the accused, which the STF contested in the High Court and obtained a stay order.

However, the Supreme Court ruled in the Saheena Welfare Association case in 1996 that TADA accused could not be held indefinitely. Following the ruling, 71 persons were released on bail on December 16, 1996. The TADA court framed the charges in 1997 but observed that the court was too small to try 123 accused persons and directed the State to look for a better venue for the trial. It took more than two years for the Government to select the present location and the trials commenced in October 1999.

The trials were disrupted when the Kannada thespian, Mr. Rajkumar, was abducted on July 30, 2000. It resumed on January 6, 2001, when the Government appointed Mr. Krishnappa as Special TADA Judge to exclusively deal with the cases and expedite the hearing. Nearly 450 witnesses were examined and the hearing was completed early this month.

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