Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed can leave the Indian high commission where he has taken refuge because the warrant for his arrest has expired, the government said on Thursday.
Opposition leader Mr Nasheed has said he would remain at the Indian high commission until authorities assure him that he will not be arrested and will be free to campaign for presidential elections due in September.
“Mr Nasheed is a free man and he can walk out of the embassy,” government spokesman Masood Imad said. “Police will not arrest him because the arrest warrant expired last night.”
Mr Imad said the police told courts that they could not reach Mr Nasheed, who took shelter at the embassy compound to evade an arrest warrant issued by a magistrate after he failed to turn up at his trial on Sunday.
“The court has not fixed a date for the next hearing and there is no threat of arrest.. He (Nasheed) has nothing to fear,” Mr Imad said.
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Kolkata top cop shunted
Parwez Hafeez
Kolkata, Feb. 14
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday sacked Kolkata police commissioner Ranjit Kumar Pachnanda for the “mishandling” of the Garden Reach violence in which a sub-inspector of the Kolkata police special branch, Tapas Chowdhury, was killed on Tuesday. ADG (law and order) Surajit Kar Purkayastha has been appointed the new city police commissioner.
Mr Pachnanda has been given the post of ADG (security), replacing Virendra.
The occupant of this post also shoulders the responsibility of the CM’s security.
ADG (IB) Banibrata Basu has been appointed ADG (law and order). G.M.P Reddy replaced Mr Basu as the ADG (IB). Current joint commissioner of police (traffic) Soumen Mitra has been promoted to IG (law and order).