Kanchi case accused backtracks, tells court he was tortured by cops

The Sankararaman murder case, which led to the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, took a dramatic turn today after a key ac...

The Sankararaman murder case, which led to the arrest of Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, took a dramatic turn today after a key accused retracted his sworn statement at the Judicial Magistrate’s court here.

The accused, Kathiravan, told the magistrate that his earlier statement, which led to the Shankaracharya’s arrest, was extracted after severe police torture.

Dealing another blow to the prosecution today, co-accused Chinna alias Rajani, told the magistrate that he was so badly tortured in police custody that he lost his teeth.

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According to the Kanchi mutt’s lawyers, the new development could significantly help the defence at the trial stage.

Kathiravan told the magistrate that he had been picked up by police on the night of November 3 but his arrest was recorded only on November 9.

‘‘They (police) kept asking me who Sunder was, and to confess that I had done the crime (killing Sankararaman, the temple manager) on Sunder’s directions,’’ he told the court.

According to Kathiravan, the police also made him sign a few blank papers and some statements.

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