CHENNAI: Chennai Corporation deputy mayor and a minister’s relative were among six booked by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the city police for taking over the quarry business of a deceased person through forgery and fraudulent means.
The accused named in the FIR are deputy mayor M Mahesh Kumar, minister K R Periyakaruppan’s relative P Gunasekaran, K Balamurugan, K Divakar, N Selvarajan and district register officer Sathya Priya. The accused have been booked for criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and forging valuable documents and data on electronic devices.
The complaint was filed by A Esakiammal, wife of late S R Mohan, the owner of the quarry. Mohan, who was suffering from a prolonged illness, died in April 2021. Mohan was running the business with a few partners, said the police. “The partners including Gunasekaran and Balamurugan brought in deputy mayor Mahesh Kumar as the director of the business. Without providing proper compensation to Esakiammal and her children, the men took over the quarry business,” said a senior police officer.
The FIR states that the accused had forged documents belonging to Mohan and changed the ownership of the quarry while claiming that he was alive. The registration was done at the district register office located in Nandanam where Sathya Priya registered the company under the name of Mahesh Kumar. Esakiammal in her complaint stated that Priya was obligated to inform her about the changes but did not.
The CCB registered a case on August 18 following directions from the Saidapet court. Esakiammal’s petition in court stated that the police were reluctant to register a case since the deputy mayor was included in the complaint.