VILLUPURAM: Former DMK minister K Ponmudi was acquitted in the red sand quarry case by the principal sessions court in Villupuram on Thursday.
Principal district judge A Manimozhi acquitted all the accused in the case, dating back to 2012, on grounds of weak evidence submitted by the district administration, mainly due to mismatch in the inspection drawing report.
Among the 57 witnesses, 33 including officials from the district administration, Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited, and survey department turned hostile in the 13-year long case. The judge said that the evidence was weak and acquitted all the eight accused by giving them the benefit of doubt.
Villupuram district crime branch police filed the case in 2012, alleging that the state government incurred a loss of `28.4 crore, owing to the excessive extraction of red soil from a quarry located in Poothurai village, near Vanur in Villupuram district.
Eight people were booked - Ponmudi, his son Gautham Sigamani, Rajamahendran, Sadhanandan, Kothakumar, Jayachandran, Gopinath, and Loganathan. Loganathan passed away due to ill health during the trial.
“The case was put up against me due to the regime revenge attitude by the then AIADMK government in order to tarnish not just my image, but also DMK’s. Although I had the chance to withdraw the case after the government changed, my lawyers insisted on fighting the false case and coming out clean. This is a victory for DMK’s legacy,” Ponmudi said.
33 witnesses out of 57 turned hostile
Among the 57 witnesses, 33 including officials from the district administration, Tamil Nadu Minerals Limited, and survey department turned hostile in the 13-year long case