VELLORE: Terror suspects—Fakruddin (alias) ‘Police’ Fakruddin, Panna Ismail and Bilal Malik—were on Thursday produced before the special court, which has been constituted to conduct trial in the murder cases of the functionaries of a Hindu outfit and the BJP in the State. The trio was taken to the court in Poonamallee from the Vellore Central Prison for Men under tight security and brought back at 2.45 pm.
According to sources, on Tuesday, the murder cases of Hindu Munnani State General Secretary S Vellaiyappan, BJP State Medical Wing Secretary Dr V Aravinth Reddy, and M Panchatcharam, staff of a jewellery showroom, were transferred to the Special Court from the Judicial Magistrate Court - III in Vellore following which Judge of the Special Court M Moni directed the Special Investigation Division (SID) of CB-CID to produce the trio before the court on Thursday.
“The case diary (CD)—comprising the charge sheet, material evidence, confession statements of the accused and statement of eyewitnesses—of the three cases were submitted in the Special Court on Thursday,” said the source.
Deputy Superintendent of Police of CB-CID, Vellore, C Vellaiyan, submitted the CDs of the three cases before the court. “The trio was transported under tight security and discreetly,” said the police official. For the first time, the trio was produced before the special court on Thursday. “After going through the case details, Judge M Moni posted the hearing in Vellaiyappan and Reddy cases to October 1. He posted the Panchatcharam murder case for hearing to October 9,” said the trio’s counsel P Pugalendhi.
The district police engaged two DSPs V Mathivannan (Katpadi) and P Ganeshan (Ambur), five inspectors and 36 police personnel for escort duty. “The police took the trio under custody at 9 am. They were transported in a convoy of seven vehicles. The terror suspects were transported in three separate vehicles,” said the police source.
The three suspects were produced before the court at 10.45 am. “After the legal procedures were completed at 12.50 pm, the police team started from the special court and reached Vellore prison at 2.40 pm. The three were lodged in high risk prisoners’ block,” the source added.