Tuesday, Apr 15, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By K.T. Sangameswaran
An officer in the CB-CID, agency investigating the case, said "the process of invoking the POTA is on". Though he did not go into the details, he said Section 4 (a) might be invoked and the process is likely to be completed in a day or two. A Government Order issued in December last enables the police to use Section 4 (a), which deals with offences relating to "possession of certain unauthorised arms" in the present case, it is pointed out. Mr.Gopal, now in judicial custody, would be produced before the special court at Poonamallee here, once the POTA is invoked against him. The provision reads: "Any person in unauthorised possession of any (a) arms or ammunition specified in columns (2) and (3) of Category I or Category III (a) of Schedule 1 to the Arms Rules, 1962, in a notified area, (b) bombs, dynamite or hazardous explosive substance or other lethal weapons capable of mass destruction or biological or chemical substances of warfare in any area, whether notified or not, shall be guilty of terrorist act ... and be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to imprisonment for life or with fine, which may extend up to Rs.10 lakhs or with both". The sources say that the State Government realised the importance of the provision when cases involving fundamentalist groups and extremist organisations were considered. Initially, it was found that some fundamentalist organisations such as Muslim Defence Force volunteers, who were arrested recently, could not be detained under the Act, as the MDF did not find a place in the list of banned organisations. Taking advantage of Section 4, the State Government issued an order that the entire State would be a "notified area", to book cases under the POTA. Mr. Gopal was arrested in connection with a case relating to the alleged murder of a "police informer", Rajamani, in the Sathyamangalam forests in June 1998. At the time of his arrest, the police said, Gopal possessed an unlicensed revolver with ammunition and a pamphlet in support of the banned TNLA. A few other cases relating to the forest brigand, Veerappan, are also pending against him. If the controversial special law is invoked in this case, Mr. Gopal may be the first journalist against whom the anti-terrorism law may be used. Though the investigating agency in the case is different, the police operations came close on the heels of the Chief Minister's announcement in the Assembly that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption would probe the matter pertaining to the "payment of ransom" to Veerappan, to secure the release of the Kannada matinee idol, Rajkumar in 2000, when the DMK was in power in Tamil Nadu. The DVAC would also find out if the then Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, was given any money in the transaction to secure the release of Rajkumar, as alleged in a book released by a Karnataka police officer. Mr. Gopal served as an `emissary' of the two State Governments to the forests. A total of 41 persons have been detained under the POTA in the State so far.
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