Slippery justice Karnan leaves West Bengal police team frustrated

Searched for him in 7 locations, including his TN village, Andhra and Pondy, but in vain

Justice Karnan (File | EPS)

CHENNAI: They have chased thieves, robbers, terrorists, politicians and other garden variety criminals all through their careers. However, as the team of officers from West Bengal realise now, catching a judge is a different game altogether.

It has been over a month since the team, led by a director general rank officer, came to Chennai in search of High Court judge justice C S Karnan, since retired, following orders from the Supreme Court. He was last seen in public on May 9 when he met the press in Chennai after landing here from Kolkata that morning.

The five-member team came the next morning, and went to the government guest house at Chepauk where justice Karnan was reportedly staying. But by the time the team reached there, he had left by another vehicle at around 9.45 am. Since then, it has been a tough five weeks, that too, at the peak of the cruel Chennai summer for the Bengal team, with no perceivable end in sight.

“Tracking him, we have covered seven locations in south India, including his native place in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry Union territory. Once we followed a source information to find a place in Tada, Nellore. But by the time we reached there, he had moved from the place,” an officer of the team told Express.

Flustered by their inability to track him, the officers said it was different from tracking an ordinary suspect. For instance, the first measure that any police official would take while tracking the whereabouts of a person is to trace those close to him.

“However, in this case, his colleagues are senior jurists occupying various high courts in the country. Even if he is at one of their residences, we will not be able to just go in and search the house,” said the officer.

The team comprises DGP, ADGP, DIG and DC, among others, and one of them speaks Tamil.
Claiming that they were extending all possible support to the Bengal team, a senior officer with the Chennai City Police said that a team of five officials, led by an additional deputy commissioner, have been deputed to assist them.

Tirupati SP R Jayalakshmi added that the district police had not received any communication from the West Bengal police team on this case. “If they seek support, we will definitely assist them,” she told Express.