17 accused acquitted in ‘Dinakaran’ attack case
Over two years after the gruesome attack on the office of the Tamil Daily 'Dinakaran' in Madurai, a local court here acquitted all 17 accused in this sensational case.
Pronouncing the judgment very breifly, Justice N Rathinaraj, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Madurai, in a packed court room on Wednesday said, “all the 17 accused (in this case) are being released.”
The attack had triggered a major standoff in the ruling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu, between the ‘Sun Network’ owners’ Maran brothers and the DMK’s first family.
On May 9, 2007, hours after ‘Dinakaran’, part of the Kalanidhi Maran owned ‘Sun Network’, had published the findings of an opinion poll on who was the most preferred choice for succeeding M Karunanidhi to the party's top post, its office in Madurai was attacked, allegedly by a group of angry supporters of the DMK leader’s Madurai-based elder son, M K Azhagiri. The survey had given his younger brother M K Stalin a clear edge in the succession race.
