M A I N   N E W S

Ramaswamy summoned by TN police
Tribune News Service

Chennai, February 13
After registering a case against columnist S. Gurumurthy, the Tamil Nadu police has now targeted noted thespian, journalist and Rajya Sabha member Cho S. Ramaswamy, who has been summoned for questioning regarding the Sankararaman murder case.

The Tamil Nadu Government will face severe criticism from all quarters for this action as Mr Ramaswamy is known all over the country and has an excellent rapport in the media.

However, he is not bothered and in his usual wit remarked, “For long I have said (DMK President) Karunanidhi was the circulation manager of my magazine Thuglak. Now it seems he has competitors.”

Mr Ramaswamy has been summoned to testify against Mr Gurumurthy, who writes a column in Thuglak.

In the summons, Mr Ramaswamy’s name has been misspelt and he has been mentioned as the publisher and printer of Thuglak, which he is not.

Initially the police wanted Mr Ramaswamy to go to Kancheepuram, 70 km west of here, but later it informed him that he would be questioned here.

Mr Ramaswamy had taken a stand in his magazine that the police seemed to have a strong case against Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati. He has not withdrawn that statement, though he has been critical of the police functioning and the near conversion of Sankararaman into a martyr.

During his magazines founding day function last month, Mr Ramaswamy publicly stated, “Sankararaman was nothing but a blackmailer. I do not understand why he is being courted by the Tamil Nadu Government.”

Mr Ramaswamy said, “The police have said that they will come here. They are welcome here to ask questions. Whatever I had wanted to say is already said in my magazine and during various interviews. I have absolutely nothing new to say.”

Mr Ramaswamy is under constant threat to his life because of his fearless writings against all political parties and the LTTE. He has been given police protection since Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991.