The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a report on the steps taken to arrest the absconding accused in the nine-year old Dinakaran office attack case.
Hearing an appeal petition against their acquittal by a lower court, Justices K. K. Sasidharan and B. Gokuldas gave this direction and also directed the CBI to reply to the petition of the accused seeking withdrawal of the non-bailable arrest warrants (NBW) issued against them. The Bench allowed the accused to file bail petitions and posted the case for further hearing to June 22. Seventeen persons, including the prime accused ‘Attack’ Pandi, were arrested by the CBI in the case.
They were acquitted by the Principal District and Sessions Court. The CBI preferred an appeal against the acquittal in the High Court, which issued non-bailable warrants to secure the presence of 12 of the 17 accused on January 27, 2016. Nine persons, against whom NBWs were executed, were produced before the court on Monday.
CBI’s submission
The CBI informed the court that one of the accused, Dayamuthu, was in Malaysia and efforts were on through the Indian High Commission to get him arrested. It was also taking steps to secure Tiruchelvam, Tirumurugan and Kattuvasi, who were absconding.
Advocates appearing for the petitioners appealed to the court to cancel the warrants and grant bail for them. The court said that there was no question of cancelling the warrants as arrests had already been made.
Three employees of the newspaper died when a mob hurled petrol bombs on May 9, 2007, objecting to publication of the results of a purported survey which favoured DMK treasurer M. K. Stalin as the political successor of party president M. Karunanidhi instead of his second son M. K. Alagiri.
The warrant was not issued against prime accused ‘Attack’ Pandi since he is in prison after being arrested by Madurai city police in Mumbai on September 21 in connection with other cases, including the murder of ‘Pottu’ Suresh, an aide of Alagiri.
