Tamil Nadu: PA Shyna, former Maoist leader, seeks bail conditions relaxation

COIMBATORE: Former Maoist leader P.A Shyna, who currently has no substantial charges against her, has a bigger battle to fight.

With 17 cases pending against her in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, she has applied for a fortnight’s leave to take care of her ailing mother who is counting her dying days in her hometown some 30-km away from Thrissur in Kerala.

The application for leave was filed at the Madras High Court and the decision will be known on Monday or latest on Wednesday, she told DC. As the lower court rejected her appeal to have her bail condition relaxed, Shyna filed an appeal with the Madras High Court and a decision regarding this will be conveyed to her during the fourth week of this month.

Having served three years in jail, the former Maoist leader is out on bail and is residing in the textile city in a friend’s home, as she is required to visit the Q-branch police station in Peelamedu here to sign the bail register everyday at 10: 30 am, as per her bail condition. She has been doing so since 16 August 2018. “In November 2018, when my mother’s health began to deteriorate, I applied to the Tirupur district and sessions court to have my bail condition relaxed to take care of my 77-year old mother who suffers from a heart disorder. However, both my appeals were rejected and I continue to religiously sign the register as per the bail condition,” she said.

Of the 17 pending cases against her, ten are in Kerala and another seven in Tamil Nadu. “No charge-sheet is filed against me in any case in Tamil Nadu. I was falsely accused in the cases. In this backdrop and considering my mother’s health condition on humanitarian grounds, I have requested the court to grant me permission to sign the bail register once a week instead of everyday,” she sighs.