The CB-CID heaved a sigh of relief after the founder of the Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai, Yuvaraj, turned himself in on Sunday. But, Dalit organisations have expressed disappointment over the long rope given to the accused. It was the pressure mounted by the CB-CID in the last one week which forced Yuvaraj to finally surrender, according to sources. Senior officers conducted fresh searches in the houses of Yuvaraj, his in-laws and other close relatives and friends. During the raids his known associates were given a final warning, sources said adding that this had the desired result.
The police had also secured three close associates of Yuvaraj, who were releasing the audio recordings containing his statements through social media to the press a few days ago.
Meanwhile, R. Parthiban, a close friend of Gokulraj and Salem district secretary of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), came down heavily on the police for giving Yuvaraj such a long rope. “His surrender was out and out a stage managed show and it has put the State police in poor light,” he said.
“The police had made all favourable arrangements to enable Yuvaraj’s surrender peacefully. Such an attitude will only embolden the anti-social elements indulging in such heinous crimes. Moreover, this attitude of the police of soft-pedalling such a serious crime will have an adverse impact on the investigation and in the legal process. This will also create a fear among the family members of Gokulraj and the witnesses,” Mr. Parthiban said.
P. Ramasamy, Namakkal district secretary of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front, said that Yuvaraj all along has been challenging the police and the State government. Still serious steps were not initiated to arrest him immediately.
