Thaindian News

Chennai, Aug 25 (IANS) Former Tamil Nadu minister K.N. Nehru of the DMK was Thursday arrested in a land grab case and remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.

Nehru, taken into custody from Tiruchirapalli, 320 km from here, was moved to Cuddalore prison, a police official told IANS.

Nehru’s arrest came after the arrest of two former DMK ministers - Veerapandi Arumugam and N.K.K.P. Raja. Arumugam was arrested July 30 while Raja, who is now out on bail, was arrested Aug 4.

Nehru, a former transport minister, was arrested on a complaint by K. Srinivasan, a doctor, for forcibly acquiring his land of around 13,000 sq ft on which the DMK district office was then built.

Nehru refuted the allegations and said he would fight it out in court.

Three more people, including former DMK legislator Anbil Periasamy, who were arrested Thursday morning in connection with the same case, were also remanded to judicial custody.

Reacting to the arrest, DMK president and former chief minister M. Karunanidhi told reporters that an “Emergency like situation” existed in the state.

Karunanidhi said the party would boycott the house sessions as the seating arrangements for the DMK legislators were not proper.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa had Wednesday said in the assembly that the government had restored land valued at over Rs.415 crore to their owners.

Out of 8,947 complaints of land grab, she said, chargesheets were filed in three cases while 462 cases were booked. At least 419 people were arrested.

The government has set up 25 special courts and fast track courts to hear the land grab cases, she added.