Maudhany likely to be produced in court through video-conferencing

The case relates to planting of bomb in Coimbatore Press Club

October 03, 2011 09:32 am | Updated October 06, 2016 05:01 am IST - COIMBATORE:

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the State Crime Branch CID is said to be exploring the possibility of making Kerala-based People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Nasser Maudhany appear before the Judicial Magistrate III court here through video-conferencing on October 3 or 4 in a case relating to the planting of a bomb at the Coimbatore Press Club.

The CB-CID SIT had obtained a warrant for production of Maudhany in the bomb planting case and approached the Karnataka court and police. It had shown the formal arrest in the bomb planting case last week.

Considering the importance of his presence in the Bangalore bomb blast case trial (Mr. Maudhany's bail application is scheduled for hearing before the Supreme Court on October 12), there was a stalemate. However, the blast case trial court is said to have agreed to give a transit warrant to take Mr. Maudhany on October 3 and bring him back to the Bangalore prison on October 5.

In addition, the issue of whether Karnataka Police or Tamil Nadu Police should provide the escort for bringing Mr. Maudhany to Coimbatore and take him back to Bangalore also caused some anxiety, police sources said.

Mr. Maudhany is also said to have produced a health certificate expressing inability to travel to Coimbatore by road or by train. However, he needs to be produced before the Coimbatore Judicial Magistrate Court No III on October 3. On December 30, 2002, a bomb was recovered from a telephone booth outside the press club. The recovery was made following a phone call to the city police.

The planting of the bomb was seen as part of a campaign by the PDP cadre seeking the release of Mr. Maudhany who was then undertrial in the Coimbatore serial blasts case of February 14, 1998 (which claimed 58 lives and left over 150 injured) and lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison.

The act was seen as retaliation to the denial of bail to Mr. Maudhany.

Four days prior to the recovery of the bomb, Soofiya Maudhany, wife of Mr. Maudhany, had an altercation with police personnel over the issue of taking a cellular phone and two SIM cards while entering the prison to meet Mr. Maudhany.

The Race Course Police registered a case against Ms. Soofiya Maudhany and an associate of Maudhany, Naushad, and a few others under section 353 (preventing a government servant from discharging duty) and 506 (i) Criminal Intimidation (Indian Penal Code).

A case registered by the Race Course Police under sections 307 of the IPC (attempt to murder) and Explosives Substances Act of 1908 was subsequently transferred to the SIT of the CB-CID.

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