PUDUCHERRY: The CB-CID has arrested a former revenue department official, also the former director of fisheries, in connection with the land-grabbing case of Sri Kamatchiamman temple on Bharati Street. The accused, D Balaji (44) is the 16th person apprehended in the case.
The case pertains to forging documents and the will of the agricultural land, measuring 64,035 sq ft, which belongs to the temple at Rainbow Nagar, and its fraudulent sale by creating two portions in 2021. The GLR value of the land is Rs 12.49 crore and the market value could be around Rs 45 to Rs 50 crore. Based on a complaint by the Trustees of the temple, an FIR was registered in August 2022.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by R Mohankumar, SP, and CB-CID collected documents from the registration and survey departments and examined officials and other witnesses. The investigation revealed that the accused persons had forged documents that they used to register the temple land in their name with the help of officials from the registration department and the directorate of survey and land records, Puducherry.
Balaji has been accused of changing the land's patta in the name of the accused Periyanayagasamy alias Arulraj without perusing the parent and link documents, police said. With Balaji's arrest, the number of accused persons apprehended in connection with the case has gone up to 16. Those arrested earlier include the Sub-Registrar of Villianur Taluk, Sivasamy, and a former Village Administrative officer. Director of Survey and Land Records M S Ramesh, also named as an accused is yet to be arrested.