CHENNAI: Casting doubts over the pace of investigation by the CB-CID into the abduction of a minor boy in Tiruvallur in connection with an inter-caste marriage, the Madras High Court on Friday wondered whether the nation is heading towards “Police Raj”.
The court dismissed the bail applications filed by the three accused — V Vanaraj, father of the bride, P Manikandan and M Ganesan, all natives of Theni. They sought bail on the ground of a compromise arrived at between the families of the groom, Danush, and the bride, Vijaya Shree.
Justice G Jayachandran, while rejecting bail, said this is not a case to be conveniently closed as a private dispute between two families. It is a case of criminal trespass during night and abduction of a minor boy by force under fear of death. It is a classic case of the abuse of government machinery to commit a crime for extraneous considerations.
“This court is constrained to place on record, this incident and subsequent follow-up events, had caused serious concern about the life and liberty of common men and a reasonable apprehension in their mind as to whether this great nation is drifting towards Police Raj,” he said.
The abduction of the minor boy, Inderchand, from his house at Kalambakkam in Tiruvallur, on June 7, 2025 sent shock waves across the state as the KV Kuppam MLA and leader of Puratchi Bharatham Katchi ‘Poovai’ Jagan Moorthy and ADGP HM Jayaram were allegedly involved in the offence.
The judge opined that had this been an ordinary case of abduction of a person and matter confined with two families, the task of this court to consider the bail petition would have been much simpler. The call records between the accused persons as well as the CCTV footage shows a very strong suspicion about the involvement of the powerful politician and a senior police officer.
Stating that the MLA and the IPS officer have got protective order from the Supreme Court only against arrest and not against interrogation, the judge commented that the pace of the CB-CID probe is a clear proof that the investigating officer (IO) is scared to reach the powerful persons.
“The investigation is moving at snail pace expecting something else to happen,” he said, adding that since the IO is in the rank inferior to the IPS officer, he is unable to make enough headway in the probe. However, this court still believes that the course of investigation, as proposed by the IO in his affidavit, will be carried in due course and expeditiously, thereby will restore the public’s faith in the police and judiciary, Justice Jayachandran said.
The SC has granted interim bail to Jagan Moorthy while staying an HC order to secure and take appropriate action against Jayaram.
