Coimbatore, July 01: R R Gopal, a Pota detenu and editor of Tamil magazine 'Nakkeeran' and three others were produced before a judicial magistrate court here, in connection with a case relating to the murder of a student five years ago in Sathyamangalam forest area, who was allegedly killed by forest brigand Veerappan. Gopal, who was brought from Chennai early today, was produced before the 5th judicial magistrate, Justin David, along with two magazine reporters, Shivasubramanian and Krishna Kumar, who were on conditional bail.


Another accused in the case, Sathyamurthi of Tamil Nadu Liberation Army, was also produced before the court amidst tight security.

The body of the student, Bhaktavatchalam, who had gone to meet Veerappan on the pretext of taking an interview, was found in Sathymangalam forest in 1998. Besides these four, a case was also registered against Veerappan as main accused, Sethukuli Govindan, Chandra Gounder and two others.

As requested, the magistrate permitted Gopal and Shivasubramanian to meet their relatives and counsels for a few minutes.

While boarding the police vehicle, Gopal said that he will legally fight the case, which he alleged, was foisted against him and his colleagues. Bureau Report