Raja in land grab case
Former Union telecom minister A Raja, presently lodged in Tihar jail for his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam, on Monday came under fresh police scan in a land grabbing case by his associates during the DMK rule in the state.
A group of affected villagers from Perambalur, Raja’s home turf, in a complaint to the Perambalur SP, alleged that about 600 acres of land belonging to them was collected, applying pressure tactics, in small lots by Raja’s associates for a Chennai-based real estate firm, ‘Green House Promoters Ltd’ at throw-away prices, sources said.
The complainants alleged that they were allegedly arm-twisted to sell their lands at low prices which were later sold to real estate promoters at fabulous prices ranging from Rs 15-20 lakhs per acre. The villagers, seeking justice came to present a petition, a day after the setting up of the ‘Special Cells’ at district headquarters in the state for a speedy redressal of such complaints.
Green House Promoters, it may be recalled was promoted by Raja’s former associate Sadiq Pasha, who later allegedly committed suicide in March this year in his house in Chennai hours before he was to leave for New Delhi to appear before the CBI in the ‘2G’ spectrum case.
Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, had on Sunday directed constitution of “special cells” at both the state Police Headquarters here and in the district police offices to exclusively deal with the complaints of land-grab by political bigwigs and their associates under the previous DMK regime during 2006-11 period.
