Chennai, Oct 27:
The Tamil Nadu Crime Branch-CID police, whch probed the Rs 100 crore Palani temple land row, has filed the charge sheet against five accused within the mandatory 90 days.
A release from the Office of the Director General of Police/Head of Police Forces said the CB-CID Dindigul, has electronically filed the charge sheet before the jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate Court in the case relating to the alleged fraudulent sale and registration of one acre and 35 cents of land belonging to Arulmigu Dhandapani Swamigal Mutt, Palani, one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga.
The land, dedicated in 1888 for the Muttâs religious and charitable purposes, has a guideline value of approximately Rs.16 crore. The investigation revealed that a sale deed was executed for a stated consideration of Rs two crore and registered despite the pendency of an appeal by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department.
During the investigation, more than 160 witnesses were examined. Documents obtained from the Registration, Revenue and HR and CE Departments, CCTV footage, call detail records and banking records were collected and analysed. Based on the evidence collected, the charge sheet has been filed against Murugadass, Sethupathy, Vellaithurai, Justin Manikandan (Sub-Registrar, under suspension) and Jeyaprakash. One of the accused, Advocate Anwardeen, died on August 7 due to health complications at the government hospital and proceedings against him have been abated.
Further investigation is continuing in respect of other persons involved and the aspects relating to offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The timely filing of the charge sheet within the statutory period reflect the CBCIDâs commitment to focused investigation, systematic evidence collection and timely completion of investigation in important cases.