HC pulls up CBI for not arresting accused in Dinakaran attack

Pulling up CBI for not executing warrants issued against 12 accused in the Tamil daily Dinakaran attack case, the Madras High Court bench here today issued fresh non-bailable arrest warrants against them and directed the agency to produce them in the court on March 11.
When the appeal filed by CBI challenging the acquittal of all 17 accused in the case came up for hearing, a bench of justices A Selvam and G Chockalingam noted that five accused had appeared in the court but the other 12 were absconding despite NBWs issued on January 27.
The case related to the death of three employees of Dinakaran newspaper in its office here when a mob hurled petrol bombs on May 9, 2007 protesting publication of results of a survey which went against former union minister M K Alagiri.

The High Court had in the previous hearing on January 27 issued the NBWs against the 12 accused as they failed to appear in the court.
After perusing a status report filed by CBI on steps taken by its sleuths to execute the warrants, the judges criticised the agency for not arresting even a single accused despite receiving the NBWs from the court registry on January 28.
What was the need for the status report when the arrest warrants had been issued, the judges asked the CBI counsel.

The bench wondered if the accused were "playing hide and seek" with the court, adding they were not cooperating with the court in disposing of the appeal against their acquittal by a lower court in 2009.

It rejected CBI's submission that despite best efforts they could not trace the accused and asked how some of them filed applications for recall of the warrants if they were absconding.
CBIin its report submitted that the investigating officers visited the residences of the accused and also sought help from the local police in locating them.
The bench also rejected the applications filed by three of the accused M. Thiruchelvam, M. Murugan alias Sori Murugan and V. Sudhakar to recall the warrants against them.
CBI had filed a charge sheet against the 17 accused, including V P Pandi alias, 'Attack' Pandi, a former close aide of Alagiri, Deputy Superintendent of Police V. Rajaram, charged with failure to prevent the mob from attacking the newspaper office.

However, the Principal District and Sessions Court here had acquitted all the 17 accused in December 2009, challenging which CBI filed the appeal in 2011.