SALEM: The Land Grab Cell of Salem City on Friday named ex-minister Veerapandi Arumugam’s son and two PAs, as accused in a case of buying a ‘cooperative society’ land for a mere one per cent of the market value. However, they returned it after they felt that it might expose their corrupt deal.The cell framed charges against 17 persons in the case and arrested seven of them on Friday. The arrested persons include outgoing Deputy Mayor Paneerselvam, Arumugam’s PAs Sengottaiyan Koushika Boopathy (Political PA and co-accused with Arumugam in all the earlier four land grab cases), Inspector Lakshmanan, Gym Ramu, a sitting councillor and a contestant in the current election, M Arul, a contestant in ward 39 and A Selvarasan, Special Officer of Salem District Cooperative Agriculture Service Society.The other accused in the case are Veerapandi A Raja, the ex-minister’s son, and nine others. His wife Shanthi and his late brother Chezian’s wife Brinda also figure in the list because they were members of the Society’s AGM. A resolution to sell the 76.5 acres of prime land abutting the NH No.7 in Ariyampalayam (Survey No.50) was adopted at the AGM of the Salem District Cooperative Agriculture Service Society, presided by the Special Officer A Selvarasan, on September 14, 2009. The resolution cited non-utility of the land as a reason to dispose of the site. Twenty seven members, including two of Veerpandi Arumugam’s daughter-in-laws, of the general body have signed the minutes book. A day after the resolution was adopted, an advertisement regarding the public auction of the land was published in dailies. Among the 13 bidders, D Kamaraj of Vedapatti qualified as he quoted a price of `7.67 lakh (`23/sq ft) - which was hardly one per cent of the then market value of the referred land. The Sub-Registrar of Veerapandi executed the sale deed on November 20, 2009. An official receipt was issued for the above amount by the Society (Copy available with Express).The matter was brought to the notice of the District Land Grab Cell. For various reasons known only to the District Police, a compromise was then allowed to be worked out instead of investigating the case. However the Department of Cooperatives sent Sub-Registrar Khalil Mohamed to investigate the land deal on August 4, 2011. D Kamaraj, the buyer of the land, was asked to surrender the sale deed with other documents. Later, on August 22, Special Officer, Selvarasan, who presided over the AGM, sent a notice to Kamaraj stating that the sale was illegal and a serious offence under the Cooperative Act 1983, since the Registrar of Cooperatives has not approved the resolution. Kamaraj was also told to surrender the land before Sept 10, 2011. After this, Kamaraj returned the land and the Sub-Registrar in Veerpandi allowed a reverse deed which transferred the land back to the Society. The Sub-Registrar also allowed a sworn affidavit of Kamaraj in the sale deed in which he stated that he did not intend to cheat the society and simply responded to the auction advertisement. The case was transferred from the District Land Grab cell to the City cell.According to A Moorthy, Arumugam’s lawyer, the CCB implicated the ex-minister’s son and aides in the illegal sale of the land on the basis of a complaint given by one Pon Palanisamy a participant in the auction.Palanisamy has alleged that the ex-minister instigated his kin and aides to intimidate participants in the auction from making higher bids and thereby facilitated D Kamaraj to become the highest bidder. He further alleged that the then inspector of Sooramangalam police station did not act on his complaint and hence he lodged a complaint with the then Commissioner of Police and higher police officials but the complaint was not registered.
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