Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Charge sheet against former AIADMK Minister

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI NOV. 5. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption has filed charge sheets against a former AIADMK Minister and a former MLA under the Prevention of Corruption Act, one in the Salem court and the other in a special court here.

The allegation against the former PWD Minister, S. Kannappan, and others was that the accused, who numbered more than 50, entered into a conspiracy and committed criminal breach of trust on the government funds with regard to the purchase of various items for the Highways Department including water carts, bolts, nuts, empty tar barrels and steel shutters, causing a wrongful loss to the Government to the tune of about Rs. 6.20 crores.

Besides Mr. Kannappan, who has been cited as the main accused, several officials of the Highways department, the Khadi and Village Industries Board, the Cooperatives department and contractors have been cited as accused in the charge sheet.

Taking the charge sheet on file, the CJM court at Salem has ordered issue of summons to the accused for their appearance on November 10.

The case was registered in 1994, during the previous AIADMK rule. After investigation, the final charge sheet was filed before the court where the FIR was sent.

The other case is against the former AIADMK MLA, Theni V. Panneerselvam, who represented Bodinaickanur from 1991-1996, for allegedly possessing "disproportionate wealth." The charge was that during his tenure as MLA, Mr. Panneerselvam amassed wealth to the value of about Rs. 21 lakhs, which was "disproportionate to known sources of his income." Besides Mr. Panneerselvam, two others, Janakiammal and Dhanabaghyam, his wives, have been cited as accused in the charge sheet.

The prosecution case was that Mr. Panneerselvam amassed wealth by acquiring wet and dry land, vacant sites, an incomplete residential building and movable assets in his name and in the names of the other two accused. The FIR in the case was registered in 1997 during the DMK rule.

Mr. Panneerselvam's case was the first case in which the charge sheet was being filed in a special court here after the new government took over in the State in 2001.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Retail liquor vending till midnight
• Summons to Elangovan, Varadarajan
• No confusion over `H' card system, says Jayalalithaa
• Fishermen in a Catch-22 situation
• Vaiko remand extended till Nov. 10
• Solution to video piracy menace in sight?
• Charge sheet against former AIADMK Minister
• Girl succumbs to burns, teacher suspended
• Suggestions to improve fire services pouring in

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu