The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : 39 protesters held near High Court

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 18, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

39 protesters held near High Court

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, NOV. 17 . The city police today arrested 39 persons belonging to various organisations who staged protests near the Madras High Court, where hearing on an application for the bail of the Kanchi Shankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, arrested in a murder case, was in progress.

A case under Section 151 of the Code for Criminal Procedure was registered against them. They were later released. The Section empowers the police to arrest people without warrant from a magistrate. However, those arrested under this section cannot be detained for more than 24 hours.

A large crowd gathered near the court, opposite the entrance adjacent to the Esplanade police station. It swelled as the day progressed.

Around noon, a sanyasi, who identified himself as Kapil Swamy of the Madali Bhandhar Mutt at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, came to the spot. He said he had come to express his support to the Kanchi Acharya. Even as photographers and video cameramen were taking pictures of the sanyasi, a group of Bharatiya Janata Party supporters joined him and raised slogans against the Tamil Nadu Government and the police.

The BJP supporters protested the police action when a personnel took the sanyasi from the entrance to the opposite side of the road. Soon, he and the BJP supporters, including Jayakumar, vice-president of the Kancheepuram district unit, were taken away in police vehicles.

Later, members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India arrived near the court and commended the State police for the "fair action taken in the Sankararaman murder case." They too were whisked away by the police.

Among others detained were members of the Makkal Kalai Ilakka Kazhagam and the National Democratic Liberation Front.

Condemning the police action against his party members, H. Raja, State BJP secretary and member of the Assembly, alleged that the police and the Government wanted to "paint a picture that there were no protests against the arrest of the Sankaracharya."

While the police were mute spectators to the "atrocities committed on supporters of the Sankaracharya on the High Court premises on Saturday, they were very quick to whisk away the Acharya's supporters who had gathered to stage a peaceful protest, Mr. Raja said.

Police officials said police in sufficient strength were deployed near the court and that they would remain there when the hearing continued on Thursday.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu