TIRUVARUR: The Mannargudi police have reportedly registered FIR against Tamil Nadu Food Minister R Kamaraj after a six long year battle for allegedly cheating a realtor of Rs 30 lakh.
The move comes after the Supreme Court ordered the State government to file FIR against minister Kamaraj in the case.
The realtor, SVS Kumar, resident of East Velacheri village in Needamangalam in Needamangalam taluk had alleged that Kamaraj who was then the district secretary of AIADMK demanded the amount to evict a person namely Subbulakshmi from the realtor’s property in Mandaiveli area in Chennai but had cheated him once the money was paid.
Kumar claimed that he paid Rs 10 lakh through the minister’s brother-in-law Ramakrishnan, who is now working as Assistant Public Relations Officer (APRO) at Secretariat in Chennai, and directly paid another Rs 20 lakh to Mr Kamaraj.
As Mr Kamaraj did not return the money despite repeated plea, Kumar lodged a complaint with the then DSP Arivanantham, Mannargudi Sub Division, in 2011 Police did not take any action on his complaint but reportedly threatened the complainant forcing him to move the Madras High Court. Later, the case was settled by the High Court in 2015.
Following which, the aggrieved Kumar filed a petition before the Supreme Court. When the case came up for hearing last week, the Supreme Court pulled up the police for not registering FIR against the minister. The Supreme Court also ordered the police to conduct an enquiry and file a report in the court before May 8.
Finding no way for escape, the Mannargudi police at last registered a case against minister Kamaraj on various sections of IPC including section 420 (cheating), sources said.
Despite repeated attempts, senior police officials declined to divulge other details such as the FIR number and the IPC sections registered against Minister Kamaraj giving room for suspicion whether the police have really registered an FIR or falsely claimed before the Supreme Court today that an FIR has been registered so as to save their skins from court’s ire.