TIRUCHY: Former minister and DMK strongman K N Nehru was arrested on Thursday on charges of land grabbing of a plot worth Rs 10 crore for the construction of the party’s district headquarters here. Though, his arrest has been on the cards for a long time, it brought an unexpected twist, raising questions over the legitimacy of the Kalaignar Arivalayam here.
The minister is charged with threatening a doctor’s family and usurping the land. Five other partymen, including district deputy secretary Kudamuritti T Sekar and former MLA Anbil Periyasamy were also arrested.
According to a complaint by Dr K Srinivasan, son of Krishnasamy a medical professional of Thuraiyur, his family was holding 13,920 sqft of vacant land worth Rs 10 crore at Karur bypass road within Tiruchy Corporation limits. In December 2006, the land was illegally encroached on instruction from former Transport Minister Nehru.
Subsequently, Srinivasan, his wife Manimegalai and his father Krishnasamy were forcibly taken to the office of Nehru at Thillainagar in the city and assaulted by several DMK members, including Nehru and forced to sign an unregistered document, which was an agreement for the sale of their land.