TIRUCHY: The Tiruchy City Crime Branch has recently registered a case against a DMK functionary and five others over an alleged transfer of a multi-crore worth 7,515 sq ft of land belonging to the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam using fraudulent documents.
The FIR was registered under sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120(B) of the IPC relating to cheating, forgery, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy on September 13 based on a complaint from S Sivaramkumar, Joint Commissioner of the Srirangam temple.
The accused were identified as M Ramkumar from Thiruvanaikoil, Srirangam DMK area secretary, Padma Rengarajan from Chennai, Vijaya Krishnasamy from Bangalore, R Soundararajan from Chennai, R Venkata Varadhan and the then Srirangam sub-registrar.
According to the FIR, the 7,515 sq ft land is part of a larger 5.87-acre property belonging to the Srirangam temple. The temple administration said historical settlement records and other documents establish the temple’s ownership of the property. A portion of the larger property is being used by a government hospital, which pays rent to the temple, the FIR says. It may be noted that a DMK office has been functioning on the disputed 7,515 sqft land.
Padmaja Rengarajan and Vijaya Krishnasamy sold the 7,515 sq ft land to Ramkumar for Rs 1.45 crore in December 2022, claiming that they had rights over the property. The temple administration said the documents used for the transaction were forged and that the two did not have rights over the land, the FIR said.
Soundararajan, the brother of Padma Rengarajan and Vijaya Krishnasamy, also claimed a share in the property and executed a sale deed in favour of Ramkumar after receiving Rs 72.5 lakh. A correction deed was later registered in January 2023, based on FIR
Similarly, Venkata Varadhan claimed a share in the property and executed another sale deed in favour of Ramkumar after receiving Rs 72.5 lakh, according to the FIR. A correction deed was later registered in connection with the transaction.
The three sale transactions involved a total of Rs 2.90 crore, according to the FIR.
The temple administration said the accused knew that the land belonged to the temple and, acting together, created documents claiming private ownership of the property. The FIR says Ramkumar used his position as a DMK functionary while dealing with the property.
The FIR also says the then Srirangam sub-registrar registered the sale and correction deeds despite receiving communications from the temple administration stating that the property belonged to the temple and should not be registered.
Speaking to reporters, Ramkumar said on Saturday, “There is nothing wrong with this matter. The land belongs to private persons and was properly registered after the Sub-Registrar checked the documents. The matter is already pending before the High Court. I do not know why this complaint was filed when the case is pending in court. This amounts to contempt of court.”