TN bus burning case: PDP leader Madani's wife listed as accused

In a new twist to the burning of a Tamil Nadu state-owned bus near Kochi in September 2005, Soofiya Madani, wife of Peoples Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Madani, was on Friday listed as an accused in the case, even as the Kerala high court declined to grant anticipatory bail to her.

Assistant Commissioner of Police P M Varghese, who is heading the investigation in the case, filed a report in the Aluva Judicial First Class magistrate court today, listing Soofiya as the tenth accused in the case.

Soofiya's counsel moved an anticipatory bail application in Kerala high court seeking to restrain the police from arresting her until her petition was disposed.

However, the court declined to accept the plea and posted the case for hearing on Monday. Director General of Prosecutions V G Govindan Nair also opposed the anticipatory bail application. According to Soofiya, she had been questioned by the police several times, but no material evidence was found against her.

The bus was burnt when Madani was lodged in the Coimbatore jail in connection with the Coimbatore blast case. Madani and Soofiya, who have been undergoing treatment at an Ayurveda hospital at Mukkam in Kozhikode for the past 28 days, have been discharged and have left for an unknown destination, said the police.