Fresh trouble awaits DMK strongman and former Union minister M K Alagiri,with the Tamil Nadu government deciding to move the Supreme Court against his acquittal in the decade-old murder of senior DMK leader T Kiruttinan. Alagiri was acquitted by a trial court in Andhra Pradesh in 2008 and the then state government,headed by his father and party president M Karunanidhi,did not appeal the verdict. But the J Jayalalithaa government has now decided to appeal against the order of acquittal by filing a Special Leave Petition with an application for condonation of delay. A L Somayaji,Advocate General of Tamil Nadu,will appear for the state assisted by a senior counsel of his choice,said Home Secretary Niranjan Mardi on Monday. If the apex court agrees to the grounds for appeal cited by the government,it would pose big trouble for Alagiri,coming at a time when he is struggling to keep his turf from his younger brother M K Stalin. The latter,with Karunanidhis backing,has already made inroads in Madurai and other southern districts where Alagiri was the indisputable leader in the recent past. Alagiri,who was acquitted before he became a minister at the Centre,had always maintained that the murder case was a politically-motivated false accusation by Jayalalithaas police. However,the government headed by Karunanidhi failed to investigate Kiruttinans murder and left suspicions alive. The case,however,was kept alive by J Jayalalithaa,who as the Leader of the Opposition had promised during her Assembly election campaign that if she returned as the Chief Minister the case would be reopened.
