The Madras high court yesterday (10) allowed Minister Douglas Devananda, who is wanted in connection with a murder case in Chennai and was declared as a proclaimed offender in 1994, to attend the murder trial against him through video-conferencing.

Justice C T Selvam of the Madras high court also recalled the summons issued against the Lankan minister.

Devananda and his men have been charged with the murder of one Thirunavukkarasu at Choolaimedu here in 1986. According to the Chennai police, the then Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) cadres opened fire at local residents on Diwali eve and killed Thirunavukkarasu. Though all the accused had been arrested and remanded in judicial custody, they absconded after being released on bail.

In 1994, the trial court issued a non-bailable warrant against Devananda and proclaimed him as an absconding accused. (with inputs from The Times Of India)