Kanchi case: Two more point finger at cops

Police investigating the Sankararaman murder case, involving Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, have been further pushed to the wall ...

Police investigating the Sankararaman murder case, involving Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati, have been further pushed to the wall with two more of the accused alleging foul play.

Their petition to the Judicial Magistrate here today indicates that the police were trying to rig the identification parade. The accused 8212; Mattu Bhasker and Silvester alias Stalin 8212; had surrendered at the Tiruvattiyur court on November 5. Later, the Magistrate8217;s court in Kanchipuram ordered their judicial custody for 15 days, on November 19. But, the petition says, instead of taking them directly to the Central jail in Chennai, the police took the accused to the SP8217;s office in Kanchipuram. The two were interrogated there, without the court8217;s knowledge.

The petition also says the police brought Sankararaman8217;s widow, Padma, and her two children to the SP8217;s office, and introduced them to the accused. This was done even though Padma and her children may have been for an identification parade. Speaking to The Indian Express, defence lawyer Darwin Wisdom said he had information that Sankararaman8217;s family subsequently took part in an identification parade at Chennai jail. The police, however, refused to comment on this.

In a surprise move, the state government today replaced S. Davidson, the SP of Kanchipuram, who was overseeing investigations into the case. Davidson8217;s transfer orders were issued from Chennai barely hours after the PM8217;s letter, advising care and caution in the case, had reached Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa8217;s office. The Cuddalore SP, Prem Kumar, would assume charge in place of Davidson.

nbsp;	Shift case out of TN: Advani

		nbsp;	8226; RANCHI: Echoing VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia, BJP president L.K. Advani on Friday demanded that the case against the Kanchi Shankaracharya be shifted out of Tamil Nadu. Unlike Togadia, Advani didn8217;t specify where the case should be heard. He said the BJP8217;s demand had been made because there was a precedence. The precedence includes the fact that the Supreme Court had intervened to transfer the riot cases to Mumbai, he added. 8212; ENS	nbsp;

This is the second time in the last four days that the police8217;s role has come under a cloud. Earlier, Kathiravan, the fourth accused in the case, had told the court that he was forced to issue a false confessional statement. Yet another accused, Chinna alias Rajani, had claimed that he lost his teeth due to torture in custody.

The court here also ordered the extension of the Shankaracharya8217;s judicial remand till December 10. This was followed by the Metropolitan Magistrate8217;s Court in Saidapet, Chennai, ordering him to judicial remand till December 9 in another case involving former math employee, Radhakrishnan. The Shankaracharya8217;s lawyers are considering moving a fresh bail application in the Chennai High Court on Monday.