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Mysore court allows government to drop TADA charges

A designated court in Mysore on Saturday allowed a special public prosecutor's plea to drop charges under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act against 51 detenus suspected to be associates of forest brigand Veerappan. The detenus have been in jail for the last five to six years.

Principal District and Sessions Judge Rajendra Prasad passed a 64-page order on the plea, which came following the government's decision to drop TADA cases to meet one of the Veerappan's demands.

Veerappan is holding Kannada film icon Rajakumar and three others hostage since July 30.

Retired superintendent of police Abdul Kareem, whose son, Sub-Inspector Shakeel Ahmed, was killed in an ambush by Veerappan in 1992, filed objections against the state government's decision to drop TADA charges.

The judge's order in effect means the objections have been overruled.

Kareem had contended in his petition that dropping the cases would mean the sacrifices made by all those involved in the attempt to nab Veerappan would go waste.

The public prosecutor had told the court that the objections were 'unjustified' and the situation warranted dropping of the cases and the question of the interest of the state was also involved.

With the dropping of the cases, the accused are now free to seek bail. Chief Minister S M Krishna has repeatedly made it clear that the bail applications will not be opposed.

The accused include 12 women. The case was posted to August 21.

PTI

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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