Sanjay Raja case: Kovai CoP appears before Madras HC

CHENNAI: The Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore city, V Balakrishnan appeared before the Madras High Court on Wednesday in connection with the Sanjay Raja case.

On February 12, 2023, Sanjay Raja and his aides chased a rival gang member Sathyapandi who belongs to Madurai, in full public view and hacked him to death in Coimbatore. Later, the criminal surrendered before the Chennai court and Coimbatore city police took him into custody for interrogation.

During interrogation, Sanjay Raja told police that he had a pistol and bullets at the foot hill near Saravanampatti. When the police team took Sanjay Raja to the spot, he was shot in his leg by Coimbatore city police in retaliatory fire on March 6 after he tried to escape. Subsequently, Muniratnam, a friend of Sanjay Raja filed the habeas corpus petition in the Madras High Court seeking an order to conduct an investigation into the firing and to provide appropriate treatment given to the accused.

Earlier, when the plea came up for hearing before Justices M Sundar and M Nirmal kumar on March 27, the inspector, Race Course police station, Coimbatore appeared in the court and filed a two-page un-clearer copy stating the details of the treatment given to Sanjay Raja.

Vexed with the copy, the division bench expressed its anger with the police inspector who filed such a copy and summoned the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore to appear in person on March 29. Subsequently, the Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore city, V Balakrishnan appeared before the division bench on Wednesday.

When the division bench questioned him about the document filed by the inspector, the CoP said that he had seen the document and assured that such action will not take place again. During the ensuing trial, the counsel appearing for the plaintiff stated that he went to the Cuddalore prison and met the accused Sanjay Raja and submitted that he was not given proper treatment.

Responding to this, counsel Muniyappa Raj who appeared for the government denied the charge by the plaintiff and said that proper treatment was being provided. Recording this, the bench ordered the continuation of the current treatment and adjourned the hearing to April 3.