4-day police custody for 'Attack' Pandi

MADURAI: The judicial magistrate (JM) court II in Madurai on Wednesday declined to handover gangster ‘Attack’ Pandi to 10-day-police custody, and instead allowed the Madurai police to take him under four-day custody for interrogation with a condition that police should not take him outside the state.
Judicial magistrate K S Paul Pandian who passed orders granting custody on the application by police application, also said advocates may meet the accused between 5 and 5.15pm daily.After the interrogation, police should produce him on September 27, as per the order. Following it, police took him into custody.
Interestingly, the magistrate who heard both sides from 4.30 to 5pm took about two hours to grant four-day custody. It may be recalled that police arrested Pandi on Monday in Vashi in Mumbai who had been on run for about two-and-a-half years in connection with the murder of his rival ‘Pottu’ Suresh, who was a close aide of former Union minister M K Alagiri. The murder took place on January 31, 2013 in broad daylight in Satyasai Nagar in Madurai.
When the police had produced him before the JM Court on Tuesday, it ordered to detain him in judicial custody till October 6. On Wednesday, police brought him from Palayamkottai Central Prison, and produced before the JM court. By 4.30pm the application seeking police custody came up for hearing. The prosecution argued the case justifying 10-day-custody.
The prosecution said Pandi is a prime accused in the murder case. He had used 16 mobile phones, 18 SIM cards, one digital camera and three ATM cards. Police have to question him regarding various aspects including phone conversations and money transactions. For that, it is necessary to take him outside Tamil Nadu including Mumbai. Besides, 18 accused were examined in the case and they are now on bail. Among them, three accused have given statement about Pandi’s role in the murder.
As per it, there was a political motive behind the murder of ‘Pottu’ Suresh. In the beginning both Pandi and Suresh had allegedly maintained a relationship with Alagiri. Pandi who wanted to get closer to the then minister, wanted to finish off Suresh, for which he and others had conspired on January 12, 2013 in Chennai and executed the plan accordingly, the prosecution said.
Opposing 10-day-custody, the accused side said Pandi is ready to cooperate with police, but the interrogation should be within state. If the police were permitted to take him outside, they would kill him, it said.
Following it, the magistrate passed his order.