Former MLA, aide held for forging fake documents

CHENNAI: Former DMK MLA of Villivakkam constituency, B Ranganathan, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of grabbing two acres of land using fake documents. The arrest came after the Nolambur Annamalai Avenue Plot Owners’ Association lodged a complaint with the local police on August 1 alleging that Ranganathan and his aide, Venkatesh alias Gowrishankar, grabbed their two-acre plot in the Village Survey No. 81.Stating that the association’s 120 members had purchased the plots out of their hard-earned money in 1994, the complaint claimed that the property had a patta and the approval of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority.      In 2008, it came to light that an ex-parte injunction for the land was obtained from a Poonamalle court by the DMK MLA’s aide Gowrishankar using fake documents. A 15-member armed gang later seized possession of the land. Ranganathan and Gowrishankar prepared a fake power of attorney in 2008 with bogus tax receipt for years 1998, 1999, and 2000, the association members said.Thatched structures came up at the site later. When the residents took up the issue with Ranganathan and his aide, they were threatened with dire consequences and asked to accept 25 per cent of the property cost and quit the place. Also, the duo dug up large trenches and cut off access to the land.Preliminary investigation conducted by the police showed that the alleged offences took place and cases were registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal trespass, issuing death treats and forgery.Ranganathan and his aide were arrested and remanded in judicial custody. They were subsequently lodged in the Vellore prison.