CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court on Friday ordered notice to the state government and the police to respond to a habeas corpus petition seeking a history sheeter, who was shot on the leg by the police, to be produced, and an inquiry to be held into the circumstances that led to the incident.
The petition was filed by Munirathinam of Dharmapuri, a friend of history sheeter Sanjay Raja. The latter surrendered before a Chennai court in February after the Coimbatore police launched a search for him in connection with the murder of a Madurai-based gangster, Sathyapandi, in Coimbatore.
After Raja surrendered, he was imprisoned in Coimbatore and the murder case was investigated by the Race Court police, the petitioner stated. On March 7, Raja was taken to his house for collecting his clothes but the police “stage-managed a drama” to shoot him on the leg, which resulted in a fracture. Moreover, the police tortured him, the petitioner said.
The petitioner also wanted the court to order shifting Raja to the RGGGH for better treatment.