The Hindu : Front Page : Judicial custody for Kanchi Acharya till December 10

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 27, 2004

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Front Page

Judicial custody for Kanchi Acharya till December 10

By K.T. Sangameswaran and V. Venkatasubramanian

CHENNAI, NOV. 26. The judicial custody for the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, in the Sankararaman murder case was today extended till December 10 by the Kancheepuram Judicial Magistrate.

Later, the Acharya was produced here before a Magistrate who remanded him to judicial custody till December 9 in another case relating to the attack on a former associate of the Sankara Mutt two years ago. Two other accused were also produced and remanded.

The Chennai case pertains to the attack on S. Radhakrishnan of Norton First Street, Mandaveli, by a gang on September 20, 2002. The Acharya, who is already in jail in connection with the Sankararaman murder case, was formally arrested in the second case on November 23.

The XXIII Metropolitan Magistrate, Saidapet, S. Umamaheswari, in whose court the First Information Report was filed in connection with the Mandaveli case, had ordered the production of the accused today. Accordingly, the Acharya was brought to Saidapet on a warrant and produced before the Magistrate at 2.50 p.m.

The prosecutor, R. Jayaratnakumar, submitted the remand report. The Magistrate told the Acharya that he could sit if he wanted to. A chair was given and the Acharya took it. The prosecutor said that interrogation of the Acharya and two other accused, Kathiravan and Sundar, showed that they were involved in the attack case. Following this, the investigating officer went to the prison and served the arrest memo on the Acharya.

The Magistrate asked the Acharya whether he knew as to why he had been arrested. The Acharya replied in the affirmative. He said he was not ill-treated. When the Magistrate asked whether he had anything to say, he said that it seemed like a false case. Later, the court remanded him to 14 days judicial custody.

The Magistrate said that video-conferencing was available in the court and, hence, remand could be done through the facility. The Acharya's counsel, K.S. Dinakaran, initially said the remand could be done in the court itself.

Later, the Acharya, however, agreed to remand extension through video-conferencing. The Acharya, who looked exhausted, was later taken away in a police van.

Around 3.30 p.m., Kathiravan and Sundar, were also produced and remanded to judicial custody till December 9. A large number of policemen were posted on the court premises today.

Investigation of the Mandaveli case has picked up with the identification of two accused by a witness yesterday, police sources told The Hindu.

A special police team, which is probing Sankararaman's murder, is investigating this attack also.

The case is that the attack by a gang was organised allegedly through Kathiravan, who had already been arrested in the Sankararaman murder case.

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