The Penang High Court ordered activist Arun Dorasamy today to cease making social media posts related to the T Nhaveen murder trial while it considers a gag order application made by the prosecution against him.
Judicial commissioner Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid asked Arun’s lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan to give an undertaking that Arun would stop making any statements related to the case. Arun’s lawyer agreed to the request by the judicial commissioner.
This was revealed by defence lawyer Maanveer Singh Dhillon, who was present at the case management session on Zoom this morning.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari said the application for a gag order against Arun was made on June 18. A decision on the application will be made on July 28.
Arun has been vocal over the past two months in urging the prosecutors to look into new evidence in the murder trial.
Two weeks ago, he said prosecutors were giving Nhaveen’s family the “silent treatment” despite the apparent discovery of new evidence related to the brutal and fatal bashing of the 18-year-old four years ago.
Meanwhile, Nhaveen’s mum is puzzled and worried after the DPP’s gag bid on Arun over “new evidence”.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, Shanti Dorairaj confirmed that she had authorised Arun to speak on behalf of the family and to pursue justice for her son.
She added that Arun had found several new witnesses and evidence but the lead prosecutor for the case has refused to meet him.
Now, she said she felt more puzzled with the prosecution trying to ban Arun from speaking out about the case.
“I am really confused, and I am also scared because I don’t know whether my son can get justice. I feel something is really fishy.
“What’s going on in my son’s case? I don’t know. Why do they want Arun to stop talking and why do they refuse to meet me?
“As a mother, I want to tell the DPP that I want them to cooperate with Arun,” she said when contacted.
Shanti emphasised that she did not come from a rich family. She said she initially felt blessed that representatives from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) would help to fight for her late son.
She said she was grateful to Arun who has been assisting her in the pursuit of justice, adding that it was a mystery why the prosecution refused to meet them.
“He is trying his best to get justice for my son, but I don’t know why they suddenly don’t want to allow him to talk about this issue. They just shut his mouth and I don’t know why.
“If they (the prosecution) think what he (Arun) told media is not correct, why do they need to be scared? If they have done everything the correct and proper way, and all the evidence they have is true, why do they need to be scared of Arun?” asked Shanti.
According to her, the lead prosecutor DPP Mohd Amril Johari had never contacted her over the past four years since her son’s death in 2017.
“I only got to know who the DPP is on the first day of trial (in May 2021),” she said.
Last month, Shanti, T Previin, and Shanti’s brother Karunagaran lodged four police reports, claiming that more than four people were involved in the crime.
Among others, Previin’s report claimed that about 20 people were believed to be involved in the case. Previin has reportedly received death threats and has left Penang for safety reasons.
Shanti also said that she believed there were more than four suspects involved in the case.
“If the DPPs don’t know the full story, how can they fight for my son?”
The murder trial is scheduled to continue on June 29 and 30.