ERODE: The Gobi Third Additional District Court on Tuesday acquitted the nine remaining accused of involvement in the abduction of the late Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar.
The nine men acquitted after 18 years and two months are Govindaraj (48), Andril alias Ezhumalai (45), Selves alias Sathya (43), Maran (49), Nagaraj (47), Puttusamy (53), Basuvanna (57), Kalmandipuram Rama (52) and Amirthalingam (44).
Rajkumar was kidnapped on July 30, 2000, from his farmhouse at Thottakajanur, Thalavadi, near Sathy, close to Tamil Nadu’s border with Karnataka by forest brigand Veerappan’s gang. He was released after 108 days.
Judge K Mani, who delivered his verdict at 11 am, acquitted the nine on the grounds that the prosecution could not prove beyond doubt the alleged nexus between the Veerappan gang and the accused. Eight of the accused were present at the court. Public prosecutor-cum-government pleader T Dhankottiram, who appeared in the case, told Express the CBCID would consult the government and appeal the verdict.
The judge noted that the blood relatives of Rajkumar had not lodged the complaint.
It was the Thottakajanur Village Administrative Officer who lodged the complaint. Further, Rajkumar and his wife Parvathammal did not take part in the identification parade conducted for the accused. Rajkumar and Parvathammal did not depose in the court as witnesses, he observed.
As many as 10 judges heard the case over 18 years during which 47 witnesses were deposed before the court.
Fifty-one documents and 32 objects, including countrymade guns, bullets and audio cassettes, were produced in court.
The micro cassette on which Veerappan had sent his demands were not sent for forensic inspection. It was also noted that no raid was conducted at the houses of the nine accused and no evidences were produced establishing link between Veerappan and nine accused.
Defence lawyer BB Mohan had not expected all of the accused to be acquitted. Asked about the absence of Thamizh alias Ramesh, one of the accused who is still absconding, Mohan said only the prosecution would know who he was. The Thalavadi police had registered a case against 14 people in the kidnapping incident.