The Hindu : DVAC registers wealth case against Durai Murugan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

DVAC registers wealth case against Durai Murugan

By K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI Oct. 15 The former PWD Minister, Durai Murugan, is the latest among DMK leaders against whom the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has registered a case of alleged possession of wealth "disproportionate to known sources of their income".

Besides Mr. Durai Murugan, his wife, son and brother figure in an FIR registered by the agency a few days ago.

With the registration of the case against the former Minister, the police have begun investigation, a senior DVAC official said.

The court filed the FIR against the former Minister and nine others on the directions of the Vellore chief judicial magistrate.

It passed the order on a complaint by a journalist, who alleged that the former Minister and nine others— his wife, Santhakumari; son, Kathiranand; daughter-in-law, Sangitha, brother, Durai Singaram; P.G. Raghupathy, Nandakumar, S. Narayanan, Radha Govindan alias Govindan and R.G. Dharmaraj Naidu— had amassed wealth to the tune of Rs. 150 crores.

The case has been registered under 13 (1) (d) (ii), 13 (1) (e) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 109 (punishment for abetment), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 477 (fradulent cancellation, destruction, etc, of will, authority to adopt or valuable security), 477-A (falsification of accounts) read with 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the IPC, the official told The Hindu when contacted.

The directorate had already registered cases of alleged possession of "disproportionate wealth" against half-a-dozen former DMK Ministers — K. Ponmudi, Suresh Rajan, Anthiyur Selvaraj, Samayanallur Selvaraj, Veerapandi Arumugam and Jennifer Chandran — , the Purasawalkam MLA, B. Ranganathan of the Congress Jananayaka Peravai; a former AIADMK Minister, S. Ragupathy, who is now in the DMK; the former Madurai Mayor, Kolaindaivelu, and the former Tuticorin MLA, N. Periyasamy.

Usually, the investigating agency conducts a preliminary enquiry and sends a report to the Government.

Only if it is found that a prima facie case has been made out, will a formal FIR be registered. In the present instance, the FIR has been registered on court orders.

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