SC denies bail to caste-leader Yuvaraj accused of murdering Dalit youth, orders speedy trial

The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied bail to Kongu region caste leader Yuvaraj, the prime-accused in the murder of Dalit youth Gokulraj in Salem in 2016.

Thanthi TV reports that Supreme Court judges Justices Bobde and Nageshwar Rao denied him bail in the strictest of terms while hearing a petition for his bail, which was earlier denied by the lower courts as well. 

The Tamil Nadu government, which opposed his bail, stated in the court that Yuvaraj, an influential leader with a considerable following among the Gounder castes in TN, continues to threaten the peace in society and he would try to tamper with witnesses and evidences in the murder case. 

Heeding to the concerns of the TN government, the court refused bail and also ordered that no other court including the Madras HC and except the lower court hearing his trial, should issue bail to Yuvaraj until the trial in the murder case is over. 

Further, the court ordered the lower court hearing the murder case to issue a verdict within the next 18 months. 

Yuvaraj, the founder of Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder Peravai is accused of murdering 21-year-old Dalit youth Gokulraj, who was reportedly friendly with a Gounder caste girl on June 24, 2015. Gokulraj’s body was found on the railway tracks near Erode. Yuvaraj was on the run for several months before his dramatic surrender in October that year.

While Yuvaraj went into hiding, there was another twist in the case when DSP Vishnupriya, who was probing the murder, committed suicide. Although in her suicide note, she said she was taking the extreme step for personal reasons, Yuvaraj released audio messages claiming foul play in her death. When Yuvaraj finally surrendered before the CB-CID in Namakkal last October, he received a rousing reception from his supporters.

He was granted conditional bail by the Madras High Court in May 2016, but was again arrested and jailed in August that year.