Arrest and Charges: Trichy police arrested former Srirangam DMK area secretary M. Ramkumar and booked him alongside five others for allegedly grabbing over 7,000 sq ft of land belonging to the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple using forged documents.
Land Misuse: The disputed property, valued at multiple crores, was allegedly transferred in 2022 and subsequently used to operate a political party office.
Legal Proceedings: While authorities maintain that historical settlement records prove temple ownership, the accused has denied the charges, claiming the land is privately owned and that the matter is already pending before the Madras High Court.
A local DMK functionary was arrested in connection with a multi-crore land fraud case involving property belonging to the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, police said on Friday.
M Ramkumar, the DMK Srirangam area secretary, was intercepted by a special team from the City Crime Branch (CCB) near Panjapur on the Tiruchi-Madurai highway on October 1.
Police sources said he was en route to Madurai to attend a hearing for his anticipatory bail plea.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed the bail petition later in the day, after which Ramkumar was remanded to judicial custody.
According to the police, the CCB registered a case on September 13 against Ramkumar and five others, including former Srirangam sub-registrar Vanitha.
The First Information Report (FIR) was filed based on a complaint lodged by temple Joint Commissioner S Sivaramkumar.
The accused allegedly used forged documents in 2022 to illegally grab a 7,515 sq ft parcel of temple land, valued at approximately Rs 50 crore. An office for the DMK was reportedly constructed on the disputed site.
Ramkumar and the co-accused face charges under multiple provisions, including cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
