Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Slogan-shouting, tension in Coimbatore court

By Our Staff Reporter

Coimbatore Dec. 23. Tension prevailed for most of the day at the court here, where the judgment in the constable Selvaraj murder case was pronounced.

The atmosphere was surcharged when the accused raised slogans condemning the capital punishment to four of them. "We are not afraid of death and we love it for the sake of serving our religion," they shouted.

They also refused to leave the court premises, demanding individual judgment copies.

During the wait after the judgment, around 1.45 p.m., they insisted on returning to the Central Prison to offer prayers or that they be taken to the nearest mosque.

The police, who were kept on tenterhooks by the demands, immediately arranged a place in the court itself for them to offer prayers. Even lunch was brought from the Central Prison.

Meanwhile, the court and the police were equally anxious to get the judgment copies ready so that the accused could be taken back to the prison. A heavy security cover, deployed at the court in the morning, was in place beyond afternoon, when the sentenced were taken back to the prison.

"We will not be cowed down by death sentences and we do not belong to the tribe of cowards," one of the sentenced said. "Our life and death does not rest in the hands of judges," he said. Citing various instances of alleged "injustice to minorities" from Ayodhya to Gujarat, he said "yet another freedom struggle by the minorities was inevitable." "The nine central prisons in Tamil Nadu are nothing but free training camps established by the Government."

As they emerged from the court after a day-long high drama, Md.Ansari, the Amir of the Al-Umma, asked "what is the sentence for those who demolished our place of worship — Babri Masjid, what is the verdict for those who indulged in the Gujarat massacre."

``What will the law do to the perpetrators of crime against the minorities?''

Before boarding the police vehicle, they defied the escort cordon to ask the people around "four sentenced to death for the murder of a police constable! What is the justice for the killing of 19 Muslim youth (November-December 1997 riots)."

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