Ex-minister contests decision to end police protection

C Ve Shanmugam, a former minister of law, has petitioned the Madras high court in Chennai to reverse the removal of police protection he has had since 2006. A central intelligence report clarifies that the former minister no longer faces any such threat, the state said, and the government informed the court of this when the petition came up for hearing before Justice A D Jagadish Chandira. The court was further informed that the reasons for withdrawal would be communicated to the petitioner in two weeks, and the hearing was adjourned until then. His brother-in-law, Muruganantham, however, did not make it out of the onslaught alive.