Karnataka - Mysore   

Venugopal confident of Muthulakshmi’s release

MYSORE: Even as the arrest of forest bandit Veerappan’s wife Muthulakshmi aroused much curiosity in Mysore, Venugopal, former counsel for Veerappan’s associates, on Wednesday expressed confidence that she would be eventually released just as 109 others accused of complicity with Veerappan were set free in 2001. Muthulakshmi was brought to the Mysore jail on Wednesday evening amid tight security after the designated TADA court in Chamarajanagar sent her in judicial custody till December 22.

Mr Venugopal told The Hindu that the special TADA court, which heard the cases against which Muthulakshmi had now been arrested — Ramapura police station case, Harikrishna and Shakeel murder case, Palar blast and Gopal Hosur case — had acquitted 109 of the 123 accused in a judgment delivered in September 2001. “She had been shown to be absconding by the police during the trial, which commenced in October 1999 and ended in September 2001. Now that she has been arrested in the wake of the TADA court issuing a warrant against her, the onus is on the prosecution to produce evidence to prove her complicity. If not, she will also be released,” he said.

Mr. Venugopal expressed surprise over the delay in arresting Muthulakshmi, who even contested the last elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, even as she was shown to be absconding in police records. Mr. Venugopal, who has withdrawn from legal practice, said that the Karnataka police had released Muthulakshmi from their custody in 1993 and even helped her set up a provisional store in the hope of luring Veerappan. “But, Veerappan steered clear of his wife. Veerappan did not meet his wife ever since she was arrested by the police,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jameel Ahmed, brother of Sub-Inspector of Police Shakeel Ahmed, who was killed in the Meenyam ambush, expressed “happiness” over Muthulakshmi’s arrest. “Had she been arrested earlier, it would have been better for the trial and investigations,” he said.

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