Date:30/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/30/stories/2008053060000400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Three booked under Goondas Act

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: Three men arrested on May 14 for cheating several persons in Tiruverkadu have been booked under the Goondas Act.

Police identified the three as Sathya alias Sathyanathan, Gopal and Veeramuthu.

The three had sold a piece of land belonging to the government, which was earmarked for building houses for the defence personnel. They had been indulging in such activities for 10 years and had created a colony under the name Selva Ganapathy Nagar in the area, police said.

The accused were arrested based on a complaint given by one of the affected persons who was also threatened with dire consequences by them.

After the arrest, police found that the accused had prepared fake documents for the government land, and also sold parts of a nearby lake as housing plots.

In some cases, they had sold each plot to as many as 10 persons.

During successive registration, they had registered the same plot of land by reducing the size, by five or ten feet, and thus ensuring that the sale would not be recorded in the encumbrance certificate, police said.