Author: Our Staff Reporter
Publication: The Hindu
Date: November 28, 2004
URL: http://www.hindu.com/2004/11/28/stories/2004112805030800.htm
The Manager of the Kanchi Sankara
Mutt, Sundaresa Iyer, today said that the Mutt would be constrained to
initiate legal action against some Tamil magazines and a private television
channel if they continued to publish/telecast "malicious and baseless"
reports causing irreparable damage to the Mutt as well as to the Sankaracharya,
Sri Jayendra Saraswathi.
Talking to reporters here, he said
the telecast and reports purported to be the details of the interrogation
of the Acharya in police custody.
Such "irresponsible news items"
not only caused irreparable damage to the reputation of the Acharya and
the Mutt but also hurt the sentiments of the followers.
`Malicious propaganda'
Mr. Iyer termed their coverage as
nothing but "malicious propaganda" as the police themselves had given an
assurance in the court that they would not leak or share any points or
news on the investigation in the Sankararaman murder case to a third party.
"Such being the case, it only shows that all these news items are nothing
but a figment of imagination," he said. Also, interrogation in police custody
meant that everything or anything that had transpired between the investigating
officer and the Kanchi Acharya remained a secret.
"If at all something had transpired
in police custody, it should have come to light on that very day itself
since our counsel was allowed to meet the Acharya during the police custody
period," he said.
`Mutt cooperative'
Responding to a query on whether
the police continued to question Mutt employees, he replied in the affirmative
and said the Mutt had given cent per cent cooperation to the police.
Two special police teams - from
Chennai and Cuddalore - have arrived here to assist the investigation team.
They are said to have come here to assist in the investigation of the Radhakrishnan
assault case.
