Rajkumar kidnap case: Madras HC upholds acquittal of Veerappan associates

Chennai: Madras high court on Wednesday upheld the acquittal of nine associates of forest brigand Veerappan, who had been named as suspects in the abduction of Kannada actor Rajkumar in 2000. In all, 14 people, including Veerappan, had been cited as accused in the case.On Sept 25, 2018, a Gobichettipalayam sessions court acquitted the nine surviving accused—Govindaraj, Andril, Pasuvanna, Puttusamy, Kalmandiraman, Maran, Selvam, Amirthalingam and Nagaraj—of all the offences charged against them. Four others—Veerappan, Sethukuli Govindan, Chandra Gowda and Sethumani—were killed in an encounter with the Special Task Force (STF) in 2004. One person, Ramesh, could not be traced.
Rajkumar was abducted by Veerappan and his associates on July 30, 2000. The incident took place at Thoddakanjanur near Thalavadi in Erode district, when Rajkumar was staying at his farmhouse. Veerappan released Rajkumar after 108 days in captivity.The trial was conducted for 18 years by as many as 10 judges and concluded in Sept 2018. On Sept 25, 2018, the trial court acquitted the nine on the grounds that the prosecution could not prove beyond doubt the alleged nexus between the Veerappan gang and the accused.The judge also noted that none of Rajkumar's blood relatives lodged any complaints. The trial court further pointed out that the de facto complainant in the case was the then Thottakajanur village administrative officer.Rajkumar and his wife, Parvathammal, did not take part in the identification parade, nor did they depose in court as witnesses.Aggrieved by the acquittal, the CB-CID moved the high court on appeal in 2019. Five years later, a division bench of Justice P Velmurugan and Justice M Jothiraman on Wednesday dismissed the appeal, confirming the order of the trial court.