The State government has terminated the services of Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) S.P. Samuel Raj, attached to the Madras High Court Bench here, who was arrayed as an accused in a dowry death case under the investigation of the CB-CID.
A Government Order issued by Public (Law Officers) Department on Wednesday read that the services of the APP were terminated with immediate effect and he would be paid retainer fee at the rate of Rs.12,000 per month in lieu of the three months notice.
Mr. Samuel Raj was in the news last year following the death of his daughter-in-law Nishana Jebamalar who consumed poison in her parental home on April 19 last year, barely ten months from her marriage with the APP's son S. Calvin Christopher on July 2, 2009.
On July 30, 2010, the Madras High Court Bench here transferred the investigation into the dowry death case from the Oomachikulam Police here to the CB-CID pursuant to a petition filed by the victim's mother levelling allegations of favouritism against the police officers.
Then, Justice R. Mala held that the local police had left some loopholes in the investigation to facilitate the accused escape from the clutches of law. She felt that the investigation must be transferred to the CB-CID.
“Furthermore… since the second accused is an APP, the police officers are approaching him on a day-to-day basis for giving instructions to conduct cases in the High Court. Hence, the petitioner suspects that she will not get fair investigation and her fear appears to be a genuine one,” the judge had said.
Ms. Justice Mala recorded the petitioner's claim that her daughter was given in marriage along with 102 sovereigns of gold jewellery. Yet, she was allegedly harassed and ill-treated by her in-laws, who demanded Rs.5 lakh in cash and a car.
The petitioner also claimed that her daughter underwent plastic surgery twice as her husband complained about the shape of her nose.
He was not satisfied with both the surgeries and drover her out of the house.
However, the APP stoutly denied the allegations while obtaining anticipatory bail in the case.
