AIADMK ex-minister’s PSO, assistant quizzed

The two police officer Gowreeswaran and assistant Saravanapandian were questioned separate-ly by the police team as part of  an investigation into the complaint of sexual harassment and rape by a female actor against the former minister.

The  actor  had  lodged  a  complaint  with  the  city  police  on  May 28 stating that the former minister,   after   promising   to   marry   her,   had   sexually   exploited her and also forcefully made her abort pregnancy  thrice  at  a  private  hospital  at  Gopalapuram.

Police  had  been  conducting  enquiries   with   doctors,   personnel staff of the former minister  as  part  of  collecting  evidence  after  they  registered  an  FIR against him on May 30.

Police said Manikandan and his  aide  Bharani  were  booked  under various sections of IPC, and Section 67A of the IT Act. High Court refuses to extend stay on Manikandan’s arrest Meanwhile,  the  Madras  High  Court on Wednesday rejected a plea  from  the  counsel  for  M  Manikandan,  who  was  apprehending arrest following registration   of   the   sexual   harassment  complaint,  to  extend  the  operation  of  a  direction  of  an-other judge directing the police to not arrest him till June 9.

While entertaining the criminal original petition from  Manikandan  seeking  anticipatory   bail   and   ordering   notice to the parties, Justice R Subramanian  on  June  2  had  adjourned the matter till June 9. Till    then    the    petitioner    should   not   be   arrested,   the   judge had said.As  the  judge  did  not  mention   the   date   of   delivery   of   judgment  and  anything  about  the extension of the earlier order not to arrest Manikandan, his counsel specifically prayed for  a  direction  to  instruct  the  All Women police in Adyar not to   arrest   him   till   then.

The   judge,  however,  did  not  heed  the request.Earlier,   opposing   grant   of   any relief to the former minister,  the  counsel  representing  the  police  told  the  judge  that  the  investigation  was  at  the  preliminary stage and that his arrest and interrogation in police custody was necessary.“If let out, the former minister, a powerful person, is likely  to  tamper  with  the  witness-es,” he added