Kerala not cooperating on Madani arrest: K'tka

As uncertainty about the arrest or surrender of Peoples Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani continued, the Karnataka government charged the Kerala government with not extending co-operation to facilitate his arrest in the Bengaluru blasts case in which he is listed as an accused. While two senior officials from the Bengaluru police arrived in Kollam on Monday morning, fuelling speculation that the arrest was imminent, the suspense continued unresolved as the day wore on with the state authorities remaining tight-lipped on how the sitution was going to be tackled.

A medical team from a private hospital examined Madani, who is feverish,and said they were awaiting the report of the blood tests to decide whether he should be shifted to the hospital or not. Putting the blame for the delay in the matter on Kerala, Karnataka Home Minister V S Acharya told a Malayalam television channel that the expected co-operation from the state did not come. "We are requesting the Kerala government. Things are not happening. If the co-operation is not coming we will have to think of some other option", Acharya said.

Joint Police Commissioner, Bangalore, Alok Kumar and DCP Omkarayya, who held discussions with district SP Harshitha Attalluri, were learnt to have made it clear that Karnataka was keen to avoid any further delay in the arrest or surrender as the deadline for producing him in the court in Bengaluru was fast approching.

Though the PDP leaders signalled in the morning that their leader might surrender by the afternoon, they later declined to give any firm indication on when that would happen. A six-member team of senior doctors were called in from a nearby private hospital and an ambulance was also brought to Madani's camp, creating the impression that he would be moved to the hospital where he would surrender to the police.

After the examination, the doctors said for time being he was not going to be taken to the hospital and they were waiting to get the blood test results. The situation around Madani's camp at Anwarassery continued to be under tight control of the police. The PDP's plans to hold a leadership meeting on decide on the future course was dropped since the prohbitory orders were in force in the area against grouping of five or more people, police sources said. While reiterating that he had no role whatsoever in the blasts and that he was falsely implicated in the case, Madani yesterday said he preferred to surrender before a local court.