Kerala (VSK). Supreme Court on July 17, granted conditional bail to the alleged terrorist and TDP chairman Abdul Nassar Madani. He has been in a Bengaluru jail since 2010. It was in connection with Bengaluru serial bomb blast case. His bail application was for Ayurvedic treatment in Kollam in Kerala, his home-town. He is asked to report to the nearest police station in Kollam in every fifteen days. A report should be submitted to the Karnataka Police.
Madani is expected to reach Kerala on July 19. The policy of the Congress government in Karnataka was helpful in this development. Earlier, during the regime of BJP, even though he got SC’s nod to go to Kerala, the state police had demanded Rs 56.63 lakhs for his security in Kerala. But when Congress government took over it was reduced to Rs 6.76 lakhs. Even though he came to Kerala in June, he could not visit his home in Kollam to see his ailing father.
Because, on the way from the Kochi airport to Kollam he fell ill and was admitted in a Kochi hospital. During his hospitalisation, his bail period expired hence he had to go back to Bengaluru.
Now, Madani is in a comfortable position as he can stay back in his home town and will have to go to Bengaluru only when the court summons him in connection with the pending cases. He was arrested on August 17, 2010 in connection with the Bengaluru series of bomb blasts. One person was killed and 20 injured in those blasts. He was taken to Bengaluru immediately after the arrest. Now, since he is in Kerala, he is in a comfortable zone. Readers are reminded about the unanimous resolution Kerala Assembly had passed when he was jailed in Coimbatore (1998 – 2007) in connection with Coimbatore blast case. In another words, both CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) have been sympathetic to Madani, whether they are in power or in opposition, thanks to their minority vote bank politics.
It is too early or better to say impossible to forget the horror created by Coimbatore blasts of February 14, 1998. It was alleged to have targeted L.K. Advani, BJP’s tallest leader of those days. 58 innocent people were killed and more than 200 people were seriously injured. Advani had a close shave, thanks to his delayed flight from Coimbatore to Thiruvananthapuram. Madani was released on August 1, 2007 due to the prosecution’s inability to prove that Madani was guilty.
Karanataka government’s decision to discount his security expenses comes close on the heels of the allegation that Congress won the assembly polls due support it got from Islamic extremists. It is alleged that Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal played his role to help Madani in connection with discounting the security expenses of Madani. Congress calculates that it will help them in Kerala’s electoral politics.
