Coimbatore, Dec. 12
Malaysia-based Tony Ponniah, a Karate master, has decided to initiate legal action against Coimbatore-based Congress member V.M.C. Manoharan allegedly for a cheque fraud case.
Headquartered in Japan, Hayashi- Ha Karate association was started in Chennai in 1976. The branches of the association are in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi and other districts in Tamil Nadu and across nine states. Malayasian resident Tony Ponnaiah is the national president of the association. On Sunday (Dec 10) , a cheque fraud case was filed against Ponniah, who was a special guest at the Karate championship held in Sri Krishna College.
While addressing the media regarding the issue, Tony Ponniah said that he first got introduced to V.M.C Manoharan at Tirupur back in 2002 after which Manoharan was appointed the secretary of the Hayashi- Ha Karate association. Consequently, he opened a bank account in Ponniah's name and Manoharan received Rs. 10 lakh from him for the development of the karate association. When asked to return the money, Tony Ponniah received only Rs. 2 lakhs from him. Manoharan also tried to withdraw the amount from bank account opened in the name of Tony Ponniah, by forging the latter's signature in the cheque. When the cheque bounced owing to lack of sufficient funds, Manohar's brother Chandrashekar filed a complaint against Ponniah.
Ponniah claimed that he had presented the facts before the judge. Also, Manoharan had forged his signature on certificates even after being suspended from the post of All India secretary. The hearing of the case is on January 8 and Ponniah said he would take legal action against Manoharan.