Nepal Maoist leader off to Kolkata

Chennai, Oct 11: A day after Madras High Court dismissed his petition challenging issuance of a Transit Warrant against him, Nepal Maoist leader Chandra Prakash Gajurel was today taken to West Bengal in connection with a case pending against him.

A special police team, which had obtained the transit warrant from the Egmore Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court, arrived at the Central Prison here, where the Maoist leader was lodged, and took him to Jalpaiguri via Kolkata.

The team left for Kolkata in the early hours today in a Jet Airways flight.

Mr Gajurel was accompanied by a ''Q'' Branch DSP S Maheswaran, deputed by the Tamil Nadu government, as per the directions of the High Court, which had yesterday refused to set aside the order passed by the CMM.

Dismissing Mr Gajurel's petition, the High Court had said that the Inspector of Police, Bakthinagar Police Station, West Bengal was at liberty to execute the warrant.

While issuing the warrant a couple of days ago, the CMM had directed the Superintendent of Central Prison, Chennai, to hand over Gajurel to Pradeep Kumar Dutta, Inspector of Police, Bakthinagar Police Station, West Bengal before noon today.

Mr Gajurel, who was arrested in August 2003 for attempting to travel to London on a fake passport, was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment in the case.

After his sentence ended in August this year, he could not come out of prison, as he was detained under the National Security Act, which expired last month.

However, his travails continued when the West Bengal police arrived here and obtained the transit warrant to take him to Kolkata.

UNI