The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Charge sheet copies in Sankararaman case on March 31

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 26, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Charge sheet copies in Sankararaman case on March 31

By K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI, MARCH 25. Barring the two cases relating to the murder of Sankararaman, manager of the Sri Varadarajaperumal Temple, and the attack on S. Radhakrishnan of Mandaveli, the other cases being probed by the Kancheepuram-based Special Investigation Team (SIT) seem to be moving at snail's pace.

Work on preparing copies of the charge sheet in the Sankararaman murder case seems to be nearing completion. After comparison and checking, they are expected to be ready to be furnished to the accused by the next hearing date, March 31. Once the copies are given to the accused, the prosecution will examine the approver, Ravi Subramaniam. Even during two hearings on February 24 and March 10, the prosecution made a vain attempt to examine the approver. However, the court made it clear that the process would be taken up before the case is committed to the Sessions court. After the case is committed, charges will be framed against the accused and trial will commence.

Sources say that obviously the murder case is the most serious of all cases being probed by the SIT and the prosecution has "strong evidence" to prove the charges against the accused. Initially, the SIT was formed to probe the murder, but a few more cases which came up later were handed over to it. One such is the "Radhakrishnan attack case" in which also the charge sheet is almost ready and will be filed in April. As regards the "Thirukkottiyur Madhavan assault case," which was initially handled by the Foreshore Estate police and later handed over to the SIT, sources say that unless the persons who were actually involved in the attack are caught, no progress can be made. Investigations reveal that four persons who surrendered in a Kancheepuram court a few days ago had obtained anticipatory bail. But they are not wanted by the police. Enquiries made in Tirunelveli district (where the Thirukkurunkudi temple is located) did not provide any clues regarding the assailants.

Similarly, the "mutt accounts falsification case" registered by the Siva Kanchi police is progressing at a slow pace. The allegation was that certain pages in a ledger requisitioned by police were missing and many entries fabricated.

Certain alleged irregularities in the mutt accounts came to light when police was investigating the murder case, the sources say.

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