Sri Lankan minister goes home, Indian court to hear arrest plea Monday
By IANSFriday, June 11, 2010
CHENNAI - Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda, declared a proclaimed offender under the Indian law, returned to his country Friday as the Madras High Court said it will hear a petition urging his arrest Monday.
The petition was filed by advocate P. Pugazhendhi, who contended a warrant was issued against Devananda, now the minister for traditional industries and small enterprises, in a murder case.
Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam Friday posted the petition for hearing Monday.
According to the petitioner, Devananda is wanted in a 1986 shootout and murder case here. One more case was lodged against him for kidnapping a boy in 1988. In 1989, he was arrested and later let out on bail.
A sessions court here declared Devananda a proclaimed offender in 1994 after he failed to appear in the court while on bail.
A former leader of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), Devananda is on a four-day state visit to India accompanying the island nation’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Meanwhile, police in Chennai said they were waiting for a reply on their communication to Delhi Police that Devananda was a proclaimed offender.
