The Hindu : National : Sankararaman murder case: police confident of filing chargesheet soon

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Sunday, Dec 26, 2004

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National

Sankararaman murder case: police confident of filing chargesheet soon

By V. Jayanth

CHENNAI, DEC. 25. With the special investigation team probing the Sankararaman murder case finally deciding to question the junior Sankaracharya, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, the stage appears set for a wrap-up of the investigation before long. Sources close to the investigation say they are now confident of filing a chargesheet well before the February 10 deadline for doing so.

The arrest last night and the remand of the Sankara Mutt Manager, Sundaresa Iyer, signalled the approach to the functionaries of the Mutt itself. Police sources do not want to speculate on how the investigators will deal with the junior Acharya but said they would seek information from him on all the evidence they had assembled over the past six weeks. Depending on what transpires during the questioning and the extent to which Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi knew about the "conspiracy" and the "financial transactions," a decision on how to proceed with the investigation will be taken. The police are expected to record a statement from him at the earliest.

There was no immediate demand from the prosecution for police custody of Mr. Iyer, who was produced before the Magistrate today and remanded to judicial custody. This is probably because the investigating team had called him in for questioning several times in the past month and a half. Police sources said he was being linked to the "conspiracy" to murder Sankararaman as he had handled the "financial transactions and the payment for the killers."

Appu questioned

in Chennai

For the second day today, the third accused, Appu alias Krishnasamy, was questioned in Chennai by the police team. Both on Friday night and today, the police took him to various places, in different vehicles, and then had an intensive questioning session. They still have a day to complete the interrogation. They will wait for Ravi Subramaniam to wind up their investigations and then proceed to frame the charges.

According to police sources, the alleged conspiracy runs on these lines — that the Kanchi Sankaracharya, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, entrusted the task of "silencing" Sankararaman to Ravi Subramaniam and Appu, who in turn hired the killers. The number of visits Appu made to the Mutt, the cell phone contacts, and the payment of cash are considered the "material evidence" that the prosecution will rely on. But the sources say that more than the "confessions" of the other accused, the statements and information from the Manager, Mr. Iyer, and Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi's brother, Raghu, will be vital for the case.

Mutt sources are still hoping to turn the case around. According to some of its lawyers, all the confessions and evidence that the police claim to have till now and the repeated "leaks" planted in the media "will not stand the scrutiny of law." They are convinced that none of these statements can become "evidence in court" and the accused need not stand by their "confessions" obtained during or because of police custody.

The bail application of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi is slated to come up before the Supreme Court on January 6, by which time the prosecution is hoping to put together its case. It could inform the apex court that as the investigations were nearing completion and a chargesheet could be filed before the end of December, the bail application should be rejected. It is up to the defence team to prepare its case to press for the bail.

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