Stung by the Supreme Court’s observations while granting bail to the Kanchi Shankaracharya, the Jayalalithaa government today shunted out the state Home Secretary and Director General of Police and urged the court to delete from its order certain ‘‘harsh’’ remarks on the investigation.It also sought from the court a direction that the Shankaracharya not be allowed to stay anywhere in South India till completion of trial in the Sankararaman murder case.‘‘The state apprehends that if the seer stays in any part of South India, he would be in a position to influence and threaten the witnesses. His very presence will dampen their spirits,’’ stated the Tamil Nadu government’s application to the court.A PTI report from Kancheepuram tonight stated that operation of some bank accounts of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam had been frozen.In another development today, the state government gave an undertaking to a Chennai sessions court that it would not arrest the Shankaracharya until January 20 when his anticipatory bail plea, apprehending arrest in a third case, will be heard by the court.A day after the Shankaracharya’s release on bail, Home Secretary Sheela Rani Chunkath, who issued orders shifting police officials, too was shunted out. She has been made Health Secretary and will be replaced by Pawan Raina, currently principal resident commissioner at the Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi.DG (Intelligence) A X Alexander will take over as DGP from I K Govind who has been sent to the Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation as its chairman-cum-managing director.Incidentally, Govind will take over from B P Nailwal, the man whom he had earlier replaced as DGP. Nailwal has been made chairman of Uniformed Services Recruitment Board and given additional charge of DG (Crime).
