Conditional bail for activist, no relief for actor

Activist Piyush Manush, arrested on the charge of instigating people to protest against the multi-crore Chennai-Salem greenfield highway project, was today granted bail by a court in Salem district but Tamil actor Mansoor Ali Khan was denied the relief.

The sub court at Omalur in the district granted bail to the activist, but denied it to the actor.

Piyush had expressed opposition to the Rs 10,000-crore project and had been arrested on the charge of instigating the people to protest against it while Khan was held for threatening to kill eight people if the eight lane project took off.

Amid opposition from several quarters, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Palaniswami had asserted in the assembly that the highway project would boost economic growth and its gains far outweighed other factors.

The 277.3-km-long eight-lane greenfield project under the centre's 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' scheme, would stimulate growth like the Mumbai-Pune and Delhi-Agra expressway projects, he had told the assembly.