THANJAVUR: A former DMK councillor and his three brothers have been booked by the district crime branch (DCB) police for allegedly causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 19.14 crore for the government, and for submission of forged documents in court. Of the four, R K Mani (55) has been arrested. The action follows a complaint by R Kannadosan, a Junior Engineer with the Thanjavur City Municipal Corporation, on Saturday, sources stated.
In his complaint, Kannadosan points to the Sri Sudharshana Sabha (now Ramanathan Mandram) spread over 41,969 sq ft area and owned by the city Corporation. The land was leased out by the Corporation to the sabha in 1925 for a period of 99 years for conducting events of public interest, he stressed.
Meanwhile, on May 1, 1991, four brothers — R K Ramanathan, R K Nagarajan, R K Kumaravel and R K Mani — became members of the sabha. On July 1, 1991, the brothers removed the old office bearers and they themselves became officer bearers. Subsequently, they got permission to run a bar on the premises on October 30, 1991. They then used the property in contravention of the sabha’s mission, the complainant said.
Though the lease amount for the premises was Rs 20 per year, the siblings did not pay even that. Further, the four sublet the premises for a restaurant, a bakery, and a mobile phone showroom without the Corporations’ permission, the complainant claimed, adding that this led to the civic body suffering wrongful losses.
According to a report of the local fund audit for the period between 1996-97 and 2006-07, the lessee had to pay Rs 3.27 crore to compensate for the losses. Calculations based on it translate to a cumulative loss of Rs 19.14 crore for the Corporation as of March 31, 2021, Kannadosan said.