CHENNAI: Two persons, including one claiming to be a descendant of Ettappa Raja, were arrested by Central Crime Branch sleuths for trying to usurp 66.70 acres of government land, estimated to be worth over Rs 1,200 crore.
Balaji (46), who claimed to be the great grandson of Ettappa Raja, chieftain of an area that now falls in Tuticorin, and his aide, Baskar (35) of Tondiarpet, were arrested for the alleged fraud.
According to police, Balaji had forged a century-old government order - G.O.Ms.No.534 dated 06.08.1888 - allotting 1.33 acre land in T.S.No.41, Vepery Village, Fort-Tondiarpet Taluk, to Raja Sir Savalai Ramasamy Mudaliar, for building a choultry for railway travellers.
He forged the document as if it was issued by the British to his great grandfather Ettappa.
By making use of this forged GO, he managed to obtain patta from a Revenue Officer in Tiruvannamalai in 2001.
After the government learnt that the patta was obtained through forged documents, the patta was cancelled.
Balaji and few others who forged the documents had a total of 12 more properties that they claimed were granted to Ettappa Raja.
In 2005, they sold the land to Lakshman of Tondiarpet, father of the arrested accused Baskar, by way of a trust named as Boomipalaga for a paltry sum of Rs 66 lakh.
The trust had Lakshman, his wife, children including Baskar as members.
The forgery came to light when a former partner split from Balaji and preferred a complaint. Police have recovered the forged Government Order from Balaji’s house.
According to the certificates he presented, Balaji, born to K K N Muthaiah and Dhanalakshmi, claimed that his mother was the daughter of Muthulakshmi, a daughter of the last direct male descendent of Ettappa family.
“We are yet to make custodial interrogations with Balaji, the prime suspect. We may unearth more such land frauds running to several thousand crores”, an official privy to the investigation said.
Ettappa Raja, a descendent of the legendary Palaiyakkars from Tuticorin, was a local rival of the legendary Veerapandia Kattabomman, and is charged with colluding with the then British authorities to defeat him.
Kattabomman was eventually captured and hanged to death in the late 1700s.