The Hindu : Hearing in Veerappan abetment case put off

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 30, 2003

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Hearing in Veerappan abetment case put off

By Our Correspondent

CHAMARAJANAGAR MARCH 29. The Nakkeeran reporter, Sivasubramaniam, and the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam leader, Kolathur Mani, were produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class Court here today for the trial in the cases of supplying arms and ammunition to the forest brigand, Veerappan.

The JMFC Court judge, Devaraj Bhat, postponed the hearing to April 16, and ordered the accused to appear before the court on that day.

Speaking to presspersons in the court premises, counsel for the accused, Jayaprakash, said the court had ordered them to appear before it on April 16 along with persons who could stand surety for their bail.

Mr. Mani said false cases had been booked against him and he would fight them in the court. The National Human Rights Commission had suggested that a fund of Rs. 10 crores should be set up to pay compensation to the victims of harassment by the STF personnel, he added. It was not correct to say that Veerappan had killed the former Karnataka Minister, H. Nagappa, because he (Mani) was not released from jail.

Mr. Sivasubramaniam said the third accused, Ramesh, had not been arrested.

Identification parade

Our Staff Correspondent writes from Mysore:

The identification parade of the accused in the abduction of Nagappa at the Mysore Central Jail, scheduled for today, was postponed after the jurisdictional court in Kollegal denied permission for the exercise.

At the instance of the Chamarajanagar district police, the Tahsildar of Kollegal, Sannarangappa, had asked witnesses to participate in the identification parade of the accused lodged in the Mysore Central Jail at 10 a.m. this morning.

The witnesses include Nagappa's wife, Parimala Nagappa, his gunman, his driver, and three employees of the Udayaranga Bus Service. Veerappan is said to have boarded a bus owned by the company at Kamagere after abducting Nagappa on August 25, 2002.

Speaking to The Hindu, the Jail Superintendent, Vishwanathaiah, said that some 10 accused in the case were lodged in the jail. The identification parade could not be carried out till the court issued an order.

Although the Tahsildar had moved an application for holding the identification parade before the Kollegal court, the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Nataraj Dhoolappanavar, refused permission on the ground that it could be arranged only if all those arrested in the case were present. An accused in the case, Bhagyaraj, is lodged in the Salem jail in Tamil Nadu, and police were making efforts to bring him to the Mysore jail after producing him before the Kollegal court. Sources in the Police Department said it might be held on April 1 if the court issued an order.

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