Five Maoist suspects, lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison in judicial custody, were in the prison and not taken to Karnataka on Monday as rumoured, said sources.
Rumours
The five suspects – Roopesh, his wife Shyna, C. Kannan, J. Anup and C. Veeramani – are in the prison after the Q Branch Police arrested them from an eatery at Karumathampatti on May 4. There were rumours that the all five or at least Roopesh and Shyna could be taken to Karnataka to be produced before a court in Kodagu.
Sources in the Coimbatore City Police said that there was a warrant for Roopesh and Shyna from a Karnataka court but the police had expressed their inability to transport them due to security reasons.
Advocate S. Balamurugan, who visited them in the prison on Monday evening, confirmed that they were not taken to Karnataka. He said that Roopesh and Shyna were supposed to be produced before the Second Additional District Judge court in Ernakulam on May 20, Roopesh before the Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Madikeri on May 25 and before the Thalassery Sessions Court on May 26. The two feared that the Kerala Police could harm them during transit as warned during the 10-day custodial interrogation a few days ago, the advocate added.
No problem
Coimbatore City Police officials said that they had no problem whatsoever in providing security to the five suspected Maoist if they were to be taken to courts in other States. The officials also said that no police had approached them for security assistance.
