Police from three states hunt for Justice Karnan

Justice C S Karnan has gone underground. The defiant Calcutta High Court judge, sentenced to six months imprisonment by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, is keeping several police teams from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh on their toes the whole of Wednesday. He is changing his locations frequently since morning, according to a police source.

Justice Karnan was at the State Guest House in Chennai when the seven-Judge Bench slapped the jail term on him. He left Wednesday morning saying he was going to Srikalahasti, a pilgrim town in Andhra Pradesh 120 kilometres from Chennai. Shortly afterwards a high-level team from West Bengal Police flew into the city to arrest and take him as the court had directed that he should be jailed in the Calcutta high court jurisdiction area.

The West Bengal police team, led by Surajit Kar Purkayastha, DGP, Home Guards, held discussions with the TN counterparts to chalk out strategy and left for Srikalahasti in the evening, only to return empty-handed along with the



Andhra Pradesh Police who were also looking for the judge in vain in the famous temple town. Another team from the Andhra Pradesh Police went to Tada and Sulurpetta in Nellore district.  

The second AP Police team also returned disappointed with no clue about the renegade judge’s whereabouts. Police sources said the team went to Tada after his mobile signal was last picked up near the Andhra Pradesh town close to the Tamil Nadu border. “Since then, both his mobile phones are switched off,” sources said.

On its part, the Tamil Nadu police also sent teams to his son’s residence in Choolaimedu in the city as well as his native place in Cuddalore district.

At the time of going to press, multiple teams of the three state police were searching for Justice Karnan to enforce the Supreme Court order. Upon their arrival, the West Bengal police personnel held discussions with their Tamil Nadu counterparts on executing the arrest order, sources said.