Arrested editor of Tamil magazine freed on rejection of cops' plea

Nakkheeran editor R Gopal

In an embarrassment for Tamil Nadu police, the well-known editor of a vernacular weekly was arrested Tuesday on a complaint from Raj Bhavan over articles that allegedly disparaged Governor Banwarilal Purohit but walked free within hours after a court rejected the police's plea for his remand.

R Gopal, the editor of Tamil magazine 'Nakkheeran', who had written articles on a sex scandal involving a woman college teacher, was picked up by police from the airport here before he could board a flight to Pune, officials said. The police action followed a complaint from Raj Bhavan over a series of articles in Nakkheeran related to the assistant professor of a private college who allegedly asked girl students to extend sexual favours to university officials in return for marks and money.

Assistant professor Nirmala Devi, who taught at the college in Aruppukottai was later arrested. Gopal thanked the court and the media for "standing by freedom of expression and freedom of press". He also thanked political leaders including DMK president MK Stalin for support.

"This release is a great hope for freedom of expression and freedom of press. Nakkheeran's work will continue," Gopal, who got huge media attention when he successfully negotiated the release of Kannada film superstar Rajkumar, held captive by forest brigand Veerappan in 2000, told reporters.

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