The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Police custody for weapons seizure case accused

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Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Police custody for weapons seizure case accused

Special Correspondent

Hunt on for Raghu and his wife Sudharani in Nellore district

LONG HAUL: Some of the accused in the case relating to the seizure of weapons in Andhra Pradesh, being brought to a court at Ambattur on Monday. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI : Seven persons who were arrested in connection with the case pertaining to seizure of weapons in Andhra Pradesh a few days ago were on Monday remanded to five days police custody by a court in Ambattur, on Chennai's outskirts.

The accused Sivaji, Kumar, Ramesh, Arunachalam, Muthusamy and Annamalai, all owners of engineering firms, and Veerabadra Rao, agent of a transport company, which carried the consignments of empty rocket shells and launchers to Andhra Pradesh, were arrested on September 15 and remanded to judicial custody.

Police custody

With a view to getting more information regarding the case, the police moved the court seeking the custody of the accused. They were produced in the court in the afternoon and were remanded to police custody.

Police investigation revealed that the engineering firms, located at Padi, Korattur and Mogappair, on the city's outskirts, had manufactured the components in their lathe workshops and foundries.

"Spinning mill spares"

The components consignments were booked by one Raghu alias Srinivasa Reddy of Nellore as "spinning mill spares" in 54 gunny bags on August 10 last year, 53 gunny bags on May 9 this year and 32 bags two days later.

Initially, the case was registered by the Ambattur Industrial Estate police station under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 121-A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by Section 121) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 8 (2) of the Arms Act.

Later, considering the importance and possibility of involvement of naxalites, the case was transferred to the `Q' Branch by the Tamil Nadu Director-General of Police, D.Mukherjee. Six special parties had been formed to investigate the case. A senior police officer said that the hunt for Raghu and his wife, Sudharani, belonging to the naxalite group in Andhra Pradesh, was on in Nellore district. No clues regarding their whereabouts had been known so far.

The couple escaped on September 9 abandoning their house near Ambattur and workshop, Bharath Fine Engineering, at Padi.

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