Magazine staff move HC for anticipatory bail

Police assure no arrests 

Chennai: Thirty-four employees, including journalists of a Tamil weekly, have moved the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail in connection with a case filed against them and the magazine's editor over articles that allegedly disparaged Governor Banwarilal Purohit. 

The employees of the vernacular 'Nakkheeran' have been named as accused in the FIR registered over which editor R Gopal was arrested by police and subsequently released by a city court. 

On October 9, Gopal was picked up by a police team from the airport here, when he was on his way to Pune. 

He walked free after the magistrate court declined to remand him. When the petitions by the employees came up for hearing before Justice M Dhandapani Friday, the police assured that they would not be arrested. 

Recording the submission, the judge directed the police to file counter its affidavit by October 25 on the anticipatory bail petitions filed by the employees. 

Based on a complaint filed by the governor's secretary, the police had registered a case against Gopal and 34 others under IPC Section 124 (assault against President or Governor). 

Gopal was arrested over publication of a series of articles in Nakkheeran related to assistant professor Nirmala Devi of a private college, who allegedly asked girl students to extend sexual favours to university officials in return for marks and money. 

Devi, who taught at the college in Aruppukottai affiliated to the Madurai Kamaraj University, was later arrested. 

The scandal came to light in April this year after an audio tape of a purported conversation between Devi and some students surfaced. 

Governor Purohit had rejected the professor's claim which she purportedly made in the audio tape about knowing him and having access to him. Purohit insisted he did not know her.