BANGALORE / CHAMARAJANAGAR: With two days left for Veerappan’s ultimatum to end, his main demand — send Tamil activist Kolathur Mani as emissary — is still unresolved, though the decks were cleared partially with the Karnataka High Court granting Mani bail in three cases on Thursday.
In the fourth case, the Chamarajanagar lower court posted the hearing to December 4, while the fifth is to come up in Kollegal on Friday. The TADA court has already granted Mani bail on a case accusing him of carrying explosives to Veerappan.
High Court Justice H.N. Narayan directed that Mani be released on bail subject to four conditions: He has to furnish two sureties of Rs 1 lakh each and a personal bond for the same sum, report to the Kollegal Rural police station once in 10 days, ensure presence before the court as and when summonses are issued and should not attempt to tamper with witnesses.
After this, Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjun M. Kharge told reporters: “Mani has agreed to go as emissary. The next course of action will be after Friday’s judgment.’’
But Mani, speaking to the media at the Chamarajanagar court, did not make any commitment on going into the forest and ending the Nagappa kidnap drama, which completed 96 days on Thursday.
“How can I say anything on the issue when I am still in judicial custody? I can answer your questions only when I come out of jail. I am yet to apply my mind to the whole issue,’’ he said.
Sources close to Mani said he might insist on withdrawal of all cases against him before he leaves for the forest.
However, Law Minister D.B. Chandre Gowda ruled out any such action on the government’s part, contradicting the Council of Ministers’ decision on November 23 to withdraw all cases against Mani.
Still, Mani’s associate and transporter A.P. Shanmugasundaram said: “Mani wants to fight all the cases legally and come out of jail with honour. He does not want withdrawal of cases. He has clearly indicated that he is willing to go to the forest and negotiate the release of Nagappa.’’ Mani’s supporters are insisting that he should be given a written assurance of “no reprisals’’ and the official tag, if he has to go. “Without an assurance, why should he go to the forest?’’ Shanmugasundaram asked.
The Karnataka government had declined to give a similar assurance to human rights activists G. Sugumaran and P. Kalyani, who had earlier volunteered to go as emissaries.
Meanwhile, in another complication, the Tamil Nadu police said they will arrest Mani the minute he sets foot in their state. There are five cases pending against him in TN, including one on Rajkumar kidnapping.
There are reports that the Q branch of the TN police is camping in Bangalore in the hope of capturing Mani, if he is released on bail, as there is a body warrant issued by TN for him.
Cases motivated: Cases against Tamil activist Kolathur Mani were motivated and framed because he helped tribals in M.M. Hills fight against STF atrocities, defence advocate T. Prakash contended in the high court.
According to records produced in the High Court, Mani is facing trial in six criminal cases in the state. In one of the cases, the chargesheet was not filed on time and Mani was granted bail in Mysore. In another case, Mani managed to obtain bail in the normal course from a Kollegal court.
The Times of India /29.11.2002.
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