Muslim prisoners '`harassment' case begins

By K.T.Sangameswaran

CHENNAI, JULY 23. The case relating to the alleged torture of Muslim prisoners has begun with the investigating agency questioning prisoners and recording their statements.

Official sources told The Hindu that this being a sensitive case with a reference to top officials in the complaint, the investigating agency has chalked out a ``systematic plan of investigation''.

Initially, the Fort Police had registered a case under various provisions of the IPC including those relating to causing grievous injury, criminal intimidation and conspiracy. The registration was done after the VII Metropolitan Magistrate, George Town, forwarded to the police a complaint filed by Mr. Preethi Basker of Vadapalani.

It was alleged in the complaint that in the wake of communal disturbance in the State in 1996, a conspiracy was hatched to torture Muslim prisoners in custody. The conspiracy was allegedly hatched at the law and order meetings at the Secretariat in February and April, 1999.

The former Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, retired Director- General of Police, Mr. F. C. Sharma, former Home Secretary, Ms. Shanta Sheela Nair, former Inspector-General of Prison, Mr. K. V. S. Murthy and Superintendents of the Central Prisons at Chennai and Vellore Mr. Ramachandran and Mr. Balachandran were cited in the complaint.

Due to the sensitive nature of the complaint and as the CB CID (Special Investigation Team) was already handling cases pertaining to fundamentalism, the Government thought it fit to transfer the case to the special unit, the sources said.

Without going into the details, they said as part of the probe, the SIT had so far interrogated more than 150 prisoners and recorded their statements.

A writ petition on the matter was already pending before the High Court.

All that the sources would say was that ``we are doing the investigation in a professional manner''.

Apart from the questioning of the victims, said to have been harassed, the investigating agency was now in the process of collecting the relevant records pertaining to the case.

The Principal Sessions Judge, Mr. S. Ashok Kumar, has already granted anticipatory bail to Mr. Sharma in the case.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Chola period pillar discovered
Next     : Haphazard dumping of garbage continues in Ambattur