International Gandhi released as police fire teargas at chanting crowds

Press, 5 October 1977, Page 8

International Gandhi released as police fire teargas at chanting crowds

NZPA New Delhi The former Indian Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, was ordered released from police detention yesterday. 16 hours after she was arrested on charges of corruption.

Mrs Gandhi was arraigned eariier in the day as the police burst teargas shells to d. s perse crowds demonstrating outside the court. Rival chants of “Shame, Indira Gandhi” and “Long live Indira Gandhi,” outside the courthouse, almost d-owned out arguments of Government and defence lawyers on the legality of the former Prime Minister’s arrest and on whether she would remain in custody.

"There are no grounds for believing that the accusation is well-founded." the Magistrate (Mr R. Dayal) said of the corruption charges against Mrs Gandhi. The Magistrate said the source nf the accusations had n ■ been disclosed and no f' idence had been produced.; indicating no reasonable! g-ounds to detain Mrs

The police also used teargas and clubs to break up a mob of stone-throwing Gandhi supporters protesting her arrest outside the home of the present Prime Minister (Mr Morarji Desai >.

Crowds of Gandhi supporters staged protest! marches as India's top lawenforcement officer, the

Home Minister (Mr Charan Singh), told a news conference that Mrs Gandhi had committed wrongs against the nation that called for a | trial on the Nuremberg 'model of World War II war 'crimes tribunal. “Still we have rested content with a trial in the existing courts for offences ; under the ordinary law of the land,” he added. “Noi body in this country is above the law." Mr Singh said Mrs Gandhi i had perverted the Con- ! stitution, forfeited the fund(amental freedoms of citizens, including their freedom 'to live, muzzled the press, robbed the Judiciary of its independence, jailed over 100,000 public workers, and ruined thousands of homes. The former Prime Minister was arrested on Monday night on charges of corruption and abuse of public ofice.

She was charged with! conspiring to award an oil-1 drilling contract to a French; firm at a cost of SUSI3.4i million higher than a bid by i an American competitor.

She also was accused of pressuring firms to provide 104 jeeps for her party’s election campaign. The former leader, who is i

59, announced before her arIrest that she would not seek freedom on bail. Soon after she was taken into custody Mrs Gandhi said that she had been arrested on “trumped up” criminal charges. For the past three months she has been making a determined bid to stage a come-back to politics. In September she . visited Rae Bareli and Kanpur in the populous northern state of Uttar Pradesh and attracted huge crowds. The Associated Press reported that four former Ministers of Mrs Gandhi’s Cabinet, three industrialists, and other former officials and 'secretaries were arrested in a nation-wide sweep on 'Monday by the C. 8.1. Some of them were released on bail. Mrs Gandhi ruled as Prime Minister for more (than 11 years until March, when her party suffered a 'shattering defeat in a Gen'eral Election.

I In June, 1975, she imposed a state of internal emergency and jailed a number of her political opponents for the next 19 months, including Mr Desai.