COIMBATORE: Days after state Q-branch sleuths interrogated Maoist leader Roopesh and his wife Shyna, the couple is set to be shuttled between Kerala and Karnataka where they face a number of cases.

The two would be taken to Kerala on May 20 and to Karnataka on June 8. They were supposed to be produced before a court in Kodagu in Karnataka on Monday, but the Coimbatore police did not escort them there, saying that it was the responsibility of Karnataka police to escort them to the court located in their state. Karnataka police expressed their inability to escort them to Kodagu citing shortage of manpower.

“We have deployed our police personnel for the village panchayat elections in Kodagu district. Thus, we are unable to allocate personnel to escort the suspected Maoists from Coimbatore Central prison to Ponnampet magistrate court. We plan to produce Roopesh before the court soon and appeal for police custody,” said superintendent of police Vartika Katiyar.

Ponnampet judicial magistrate court in Kodagu district subsequently ordered the police to produce Roopesh before the court on June 8. The court had a few days ago ordered Roopesh to be produced before it on May 18 and a copy of the order was served to Coimbatore Central prison authorities. Since the Karnataka police failed to turn up, the prison authorities filed a written reply in Kodagu court on Monday, based on which the revised date of June 8 was set.

Meanwhile, Ernakulam second additional sessions court and Thalassery sessions court in Kerala and Madikeri chief judicial magistrate court in Karnataka have issued prisoner transit (PT) warrant for Roopesh to be produced before the courts.

A team of Kerala police from Ernakulam has planned to take Roopesh to produce him before the second additional session’s court on May 20. If the Ernakulam court allows the police to take him under police custody for a few days, then Roopesh would produced in other courts once the custody ends.

Police are wary of Maoists ambushing the police vehicle when they escort Roopesh through forests while taking him to Kerala or Karnataka and have planned to strengthen the convoy with additional personnel.

The Coimbatore police said it was the responsibility of the Karnataka police to escort Roopesh and others to court located in Karnataka

TOI | May 19, 2015

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