CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed the appeal filed by the CB-CID against the acquittal of nine persons who were accused in the sensational adduction of Kannada actor Rajkumar in 2000 by the gang of slain sandalwood smuggler Veerappan.
A division bench of justices P Velmurugan and M Jothiraman passed the orders dismissing the appeal which challenged the 2018 acquittal order of the Third Additional Sessions Court, Gobichettipalayam in Erode.
The Thalavadi police, initially, registered the case against Veerappan and his associates for abducting Rajkumar who was kept confined for 108 days. The main accused including Veerappan and two others were killed in an encounter with the police. So, the CB-CID, which had taken over the probe, filed the chargesheet against the remaining persons. Of them, one passed away.
The Third Additional Sessions Court acquitted nine persons — S Maran, S Govindaraj, D Andril, R Selvam, K Amirthalingam, B Basuvanna, R Nagaraj, C Puttusamy and S Rama — in 2018 finding the prosecution failing to prove the involvement of them in the offences levelled against them. The CB-CID filed appeals against this order on the grounds that the trial court had failed to properly appreciate the evidence and witnesses in the case.