Kerala not helping to arrest Maudany, says Karnataka

ANWARASSERY - Almost a week after a Karnataka Police team arrived here but failed to arrest People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Abdul Nazir Maudany, Karnataka Home Minister V.S.Acharya Monday expressed displeasure at the Kerala government’s failure to help.

Police cordoned off the sprawling residence-cum-party office of Maudany, who is accused in the 2008 Bangalore blasts case, here with close to 300 personnel deployed in the area, while a team of doctors came for a medical check-up of the PDP chief.

Speaking to local TV channels here, over phone from Bangalore, Acharya said: “What can I say now, because the Kerala government had assured of all help and it is not coming.”

“Now we will have to think of other options. Yesterday only (Sunday) Maudany said he will surrender before a court and that too has not happened,” Acharya added.

A Bangalore court June 15 issued an arrest warrant against Maudany. By now, the warrant has been extended four times and Tuesday is the last date for Karnataka Police to bring him before the court.

The investigating officer, Bangalore’s Joint Police Commissioner Alok Kumar, and his deputy reached Kollam Monday and held discussions with the district superindent of police.

Kerala Police have cordoned off the entire area around Maudany’s compound.

A medical doctors’ team arrived and conducted a detailed check-up of Maudany.

Addressing the media after the examination, Gopalakrishna Bhatt, the chief cardiologist at a private hospital here, said that a team of specialists had examined the PDP chief.

“He has a history of cardiac problems but the ECG appears stable and so is his cardiac condition,” Bhatt said.

“Right now he has mild fever and his blood pressure is stable also. He has a history of diabetes and now his blood sugar is high because of the fasting. An ENT specialist examined him and found that there is no active bleeding from his nose. He has sinusitis,” Bhatt added.

Meanwhile, state Bharatiya Janata Party chief V.Muraleedharan lashed out at the Kerala government and said it is now crystal clear that the state government is playing hide and seek over the efforts to arrest Maudany.

“This is certainly a serious issue and the dilly-dallying of the state government has to stop. The state has to discharge its responsibility,” he said.