VILLUPURAM: Former AIADMK minister D Jayakumar appeared for the hearing of the red sand quarry case against Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy in the Principal District Court in Villupuram on Monday.
Principal District Judge R Poornima questioned him about his sudden decision to become a complainant despite not having raised any complaints regarding the issue over the past 10 years, following which Jayakumar responded that he had filed the petition ‘as a social activist’ to protect natural resources.
The judge postponed the next hearing to October 3 and said that she would announce her decision regarding Jayakumar’s inclusion as a complainant in the case. After the court proceedings, Jayakumar told media, “Offenders must be punished, and I added myself as a complainant to safeguard natural resources. There is no political motive; I filed the petition for the welfare of the public.”
According to sources, when Ponmudy was the higher education minister during the DMK rule from 2006 to 2011, he also oversaw the mines and minerals department. Complaints arose that an excessive amount of red sand had been extracted at Poothurai near Vanur, resulting in a loss of ₹28.36 crore to the government, following which, a case was filed by the Villupuram district crime branch in 2012, naming eight individuals, including Ponmudy, his son and Kallakurichi MP P Gouthama Sigamani as defendants.
The trial for this case is currently underway in the Principal District Court. During the course of the trial, one accused passed away and 67 witnesses were added to the case, with eleven having been questioned as of September 7. A total of nine of these witnesses are government officials and became witnesses, according to court sources.
On September 8, Jayakumar submitted a petition requesting that he should be included as a petitioner in the case. The hearing was scheduled before Judge Poornima on September 12, who subsequently ordered Jayakumar to appear for the hearing.