Former Anna University vice-chancellor Dr A Kalanidhi on Monday approached the police, seeking action against Murugesan, president of the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE), for allegedly attempting to usurp the prime land of the varsity allotted to the society, besides threatening the former with dire consequences.
In his complaint, Kalanidhi, who is also a member of the building committee of the ISTE professional centre, alleged that Murugesan, along with his henchmen, had been threatening him for exposing the happenings at the ISTE Centre. “He demanded Rs 50 lakh from me to withdraw a claim over the property,” the former V-C said.
He said the Anna University, for the purpose of advancement of education in general education and science and technology in particular, assigned about one acre of land in 1992 for the Centre in Kotturpuram. A building committee was later formed for the purpose of raising funds. “A building was raised to accommodate various professional societies and organise training programs for teachers and students. As of now, they have constructed on around 20,000 sq ft. After the construction, the committee was converted to a trust in the name of ISTE Professional Centre,” he explained.
The current president was threatening several tenants to vacate the property, Kalanidhi alleged. “He lodged a police complaint against me that I had grabbed the land belonging to ISTE, which was also published by a newspaper. It was a deliberate attempt to tarnish my image,” he added.