Friday, Nov 26, 2004
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By K.T. Sangameswaran
CHENNAI, NOV. 25. The identification of an assailant by witnesses in Sankararaman murder has strengthened the case against the accused, police sources have said. As the "deep-rooted conspiracy" unravels itself during the interrogation of the accused and through the evidence gathered, what has come to the knowledge of police is that on September 2, a few members of the killer gang had undertaken a "reconnaissance mission" of the house of Sankararaman, who was working as the manager of the Sri Varadarajaperumal Temple, Kancheepuram. In fact, a couple of them had gone inside the house and enquired whether Sankararaman was present. But they left on being told by the family members that he had gone out. The gang came to the temple on September 3 (Friday) and made enquiries in the temple to establish the manager's identity. One of the gangsters had warned against carrying out the plan on a Friday, an auspicious day, that too in a temple, the sources said.
Witnesses identify one assailant
It was not as though there was no identification of the killers after the crime. A few witnesses identified one of the key assailants, informed sources said. The sources said the evidence against the Acharya was strong, going by the statements of the accused and the record of cellular phone calls made to the members of the killer gang. Though attempts were apparently to tamper with evidence with regard to the telephone numbers of the cell phones used, police could get the necessary evidence. So far, two of the accused have given statements to the Magistrate. Police are not unduly concerned about one of the accused, Kathiravan, stating before a Magistrate that he was forced to give a confessional statement, as it is "common for accused persons to retract their statements." About 10 witnesses had also given statements to the Magistrate and this would only strengthen the prosecution evidence in the case as retraction from the statements would invite perjury proceedings against them. As regards the financial transaction involved in the murder, police strongly suspect that a building contractor, Ravi Subramanian, played a key role. Besides the hunt for Appu, police have spread the dragnet for the contractor. The sources said the Sankararaman murder also highlighted the havoc played by gangsters — in this case, by those belonging to Chennai. Also, during investigation, they found that gang leaders possessed luxury cars. The leadership was a "coveted post" and there was a big fight to don the mantle. So far, police have identified 22 persons as having been involved in the crime. Of this, 20, including the Acharya, have been arrested. Involvement of more persons, if any, would come to light as the investigation progresses.
Appu's pistol seized
Interestingly, Appu, whom the police are hunting for, performed a "pushpanjali" for the Acharya this year in a kalyana mandapam. He possessed a sleek, imported pistol, with seven chambers. Usually, even police weapons have only six chambers. The licence for the pistol was obtained from a North-Eastern State. It was seized by police from a star hotel in Chennai during the investigation.
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