A day after ex-minister K Ponmudi was booked over alleged violations in the quarrying of red sand, special teams left for Chennai on Monday to trace him.
On Sunday, cases were booked against Ponmudi, his son Gowthama Sigamani and relatives Raja Mahendran and Jayachandran, for violating the Tamil Nadu Minor Mineral Concessions Act by facilitating the mining of red sand at a quarry up to 90 ft, while the rules permitted mining only up to 20 ft. This reportedly translated into a loss of `28.37 crore to the exchequer. Ponmudi, the Minister of Higher Education during the DMK regime, also held the portfolio of Mines and Minerals Department during his term. Special teams have been set-up to trace the ex-minister.
The case pertained to alleged mining irregularities in a quarry at Poothurai in Villupuram. Based on a complaint from Vanur tahsildar, police arrested Jayachandran and produced him before a Villupuram court, which remanded him for 15 days.
Meanwhile, DSP Vijaya Raghavan, the investigating officer in the case and inspector Shankar inspected the sand quarry at Poothurai.
Ponmudi and his wife Visalakshi were to appear before the CJM court, Villupuram, on Monday, in connection with another case, relating to disproportionate assets. However, his lawyers informed the court that Ponmudi was unwell, following which, magistrate rescheduled the hearing to October 8.
Comments
0 comment