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Murder charges framed
against both acharyas 
 

What is India News Service, Saturday, 22 January 2005, 2000 hrs IST

The Tamil Nadu Police today filed a 1873-page charge sheet arraigning the two acharyas of Kanchi Mutt, Jayendra Saraswati and Vijayendra Saraswati for conspiring to murder Varadaraja Perumal temple manager Sankararaman.

The charge sheet was filed here by investigating officer ADSP Shaktivel in the presence of his superior Mr Prem Kumar in Judicial Magistrate Uttamarajan’s court under heavy police protection despite it being a state holiday on account of Id-ul-Azha.

Special Investigation Team’s boss Prem Kumar indulged in some drama by offering prayers to Lord Vishnu in the very temple where Sankararaman was hacked to death on September 3 last year and even placed the bulky file containing the charge sheet on the deity’s feet.

The magistrate committed the case to the Sessions court.

Though the prosecution had made snide remarks about the inauspicious period of raahu kalam, special care was taken today to ensure that the case was taken up only after 12 noon after the expiry of the feared hour.

Macabre twist to seer tale: A long and controversy-ridden murder investigation came to an end at Kanchipuram on Friday, when a special police team filed a huge 1,873-page chargesheet against the two Shankaracharyas of the Kanchi Sankara Mutt, accusing them, along with 23 others, of conspiring to kill A Sankararaman, manager of the famous Varadaraja Perumal temple here on September 3, 2004 and naming them as the first and second accused respectively in the case. 

States can’t withdraw cases at will: In a judgment of wide ramification in the context of the government often found withdrawing cases, specially against the politicians, the Supreme Court has held that a criminal case cannot be withdrawn at the will of the State but must to approved by the trial judge.

Godhra report details negligence by Railways: Apart from concluding that the fire which engulfed the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on February 27, 2002 was probably caused by an accident, the Justice U.C. Banerjee Committee has indicted the Railways on at least eight counts. 

Indian troops leave for Congo: The Army today despatched its 560 men from 22 Grenadiers for Congo to be part of the Indian troops being deployed there as part of the UN Peacekeeping operations in that country.

Navy downsizes tsunami relief operations: The Indian Navy has started withdrawing its ships from Sri Lanka and the Maldives after carrying out relief operations and streamlining essential services in the tsunami affected areas. 

Tsunami gave us our habitat back, says Mus tribals: It would be incorrect, indeed appaling, to say that the tsunami has in any way benefited the Nicobarese. But nature's ways are mysterious, the tsunami that devastated and killed, also gave them back their home, or so say the tribals of Mus.

Lalu cocks a snook at EC directive: In a virtual rebuff to the Election Commission, RJD chief and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday once again raised the UC Banerjee Committee report on the Godhra rail fire in an election rally in Ara, 60 km from Patna 

States


Opposition seeks judicial probe into Hinn programme: 
The JD (United) and the BJP have accused the government of 'colluding' with the organisers to arrange the evangelist's show.

Anti-evangelist activists turn violent: 300 buses damaged:
The Sangh Parivar leaders, who were arrested, demanded an inquiry into the evangelist’s claims about performing miracles.

‘We thought we’d be blessed but nothing really happened’: 
While the gullible were mesmerised by Benny Hinn’s deft use of histrionic skills, others dimissed the evangelist as an ‘ineffectual messenger of Jesus’. Yesterday's headline: Bandh against Hinn, BJP leaders held  

Actress dead: Parveen Babi has been found dead in her house in Mumbai's Juhu suburb. The cause of her death is not known yet.




Overall

Acharyas were finally charged: The police filed charge sheets running into 1873 pages. 

Evangelist meet disappointed some: They said they hadn't experienced any healing.

Navy downsized tsunami operations: They are withdrawing their men from the ravaged areas.