DMK MP, four others convicted in cheating case

DMK Rajya Sabha member and former minister in the AIADMK government, T M Selvaganapathy, and four others including two retired IAS officers, were convicted by a CBI court here and sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment in a cheating case.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them. Selvaganapathy was minister for rural development and local administration in Tamil Nadu during the AIADMK regime between 1991 and 1996.

According to the CBI, Selvaganapathy, IAS officers J T Acharyulu and M Sathyamurthy and three others (M Krishnamurthy, A Arokiaraj and T Bharathi) conspired to cheat the Centre and Tamil Nadu government between 1995 and1996. They were charged with causing wrongful loss of Rs 23 lakh to the exchequer.

Under the amended act, Selvaganapathy will lose his membership of Parliament after the conviction.

Selvaganapathy and others were to construct cremation sheds through cooperative societies under the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY), which was not an identified item of work under the scheme.

Further, under the JRY, no advance payment is to be made.

However, the accused entrusted the work to Karungulam Cooperative Society in Nagapattinam district and made payments through demand drafts.

The work, which was found to be substandard, was executed by sub-contractors. Also, it was not in conformity with the specifications to encash the demand drafts.

During the trial, Arokiaraj died and the charge against him was dropped. Selvaganapathy was also convicted in the Pleasant Stay Hotel case along with Jayalalithaa and her close aide Sasikala by a special court, but acquitted by the high court.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999 when he defeated the late Congress leader Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy.