The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Advance bail for DMK men

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Advance bail for DMK men

Special Correspondent

Plea relates to stampede at MGR Nagar

CHENNAI: A sessions court here has granted conditional anticipatory bail to four Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam functionaries, who apprehended arrest in connection with the stampede at MGR Nagar here on December 18.

Principal Sessions Judge V. Periya Karuppiah granted anticipatory bail to Senthilkumar and Ravi, youth wing leaders of the DMK, and directed them to stay at Tiruchendur until further orders. They are to appear before the Judicial Magistrate court there twice a day.

Two others — Ramamurthy and Joseph — have been directed to stay at Palani and appear before the Judicial Magistrate-I there daily at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. All of them are to execute a personal bond for Rs. 50,000 each and furnish two sureties for a like sum each. One of the sureties shall be a Government servant, the Judge stipulated.

The petitioners are to surrender before the XXIII Metropolitan Magistrate here before February 8, and the anticipatory bail is valid up to April 2, 2006.

Appearing for the petitioners, senior counsel R. Shanmugasundaram, assisted by A. Saravanan, submitted that the DMK functionaries had nothing to do with the stampede, which claimed 42 lives on December 18. The case has been foisted on them "with ulterior political motives and malafide intentions," he said.

Another case

Six more DMK cadres, including advocate Hasan Mohamed Jinnah, have filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Madras High Court, apprehending arrest in connection with a case registered by the D-6 Anna Square police station. Justice S. Sardar Zackria Hussain, before whom the petition came up for hearing on Tuesday, said he would pass orders on Wednesday.

The matter relates to the damage caused to a banner erected by the students wing of the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on the Madras Presidency College campus.

The petitioner said that based on a representation from them, the college principal took steps to remove the banner. However, the complaint alleged that the petitioners, along with about 100 others, had gheraoed the principal and then damaged the banner. The act was instigated by the DMK president, the complaint said.

"Merely because the petitioners and students gave representations to the principal seeking removal of the banner, a conspiracy has been hatched by the complainant, who lodged a complaint against the petitioners after damaging the banner," the petition said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail