The Times of India 18.03.2011
Municipality chairman held for cheating
CHENNAI: The chairman of a
municipality in the suburbs has been arrested on charges of cheating
three persons with promises of getting them land. A hunt has been
launched for his associate for the same offence.
Valasaravakkam municipality chairman EC Sekar (47), was headed to Sathyamurthy Bhavan on Wednesday to file an application for a ticket to contest the coming elections on behalf of the Congress, was nabbed by the police on the basis of a complaint from Premalatha of Ramavaram.
Sekar, a native of Tuticorin, and Somasundaram ran Thirumalai Enterprises, a real estate agency, near Kesavardhini at Valasaravakkam, the police said. "The two had promised to register separate plots of land measuring 1,200 sq ft each in the names of Premalatha (33), her sister Devi (30) and brother Senthil Kumar (28) in Nandambakkam near Kundrathur but failed to comply with the promise," a central crime branch (CCB) police officer said.
Premalatha paid Rs 59,405 while Devi and Senthil Kumar paid Rs 44,000 each, he added. Sekar was booked under IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) and produced before a magistrate's court in the city before being remanded in judicial custody.
According to the police, in 2005, Premalatha came to know about an instalment scheme of Seven Hills Real Estate agency, then tun by Sekar and Somasundaram in Ramavaram, through her neighbour Raman, a tailor. After the introduction, the two showed Premalatha pamphlets of the new scheme. According to it, subscribers could pay the required sum through easy instalments for 30 months and get a plot measuring 1,200 sqft at Nandambakkam village near Kundrathur in Kancheepuram district registered in their names. Impressed, Premalatha roped in her sister and her brother and the three joined the scheme in August 2005. They were promised a formal agreement after the entire amount was paid.
They paid all the instalments without fail till December 2007 but Sekar and Somasundaram failed to register the property in their names, Premalatha said in her complaint.
"Meanwhile, the value of land in the area increased manifold and Sekar and Somasundaram began dodging the victims. They claimed that that there was a dispute with the previous owner of the said property and that it could take some more time before it was settled. They also suggested that the three register some other property of same measurements in their names. But Premalatha and her family members refused to accept their offer and approached the city police commissioner T Rajendran and lodged a formal complaint," a CCB police officer said.
Premalatha then verified with the revenue officials concerned and found that the property was still in the name of Somasundaram. Sekar and Somasundaram had told her it was not in any one of their names. The health of Premalatha's mother deteriorated after this problem cropped up and she suffered a nervous breakdown, the police said.
The police have arrested one of the accused but the fate of the said property in Kundrathur is still uncertain.
Valasaravakkam municipality chairman EC Sekar (47), was headed to Sathyamurthy Bhavan on Wednesday to file an application for a ticket to contest the coming elections on behalf of the Congress, was nabbed by the police on the basis of a complaint from Premalatha of Ramavaram.
Sekar, a native of Tuticorin, and Somasundaram ran Thirumalai Enterprises, a real estate agency, near Kesavardhini at Valasaravakkam, the police said. "The two had promised to register separate plots of land measuring 1,200 sq ft each in the names of Premalatha (33), her sister Devi (30) and brother Senthil Kumar (28) in Nandambakkam near Kundrathur but failed to comply with the promise," a central crime branch (CCB) police officer said.
Premalatha paid Rs 59,405 while Devi and Senthil Kumar paid Rs 44,000 each, he added. Sekar was booked under IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) and produced before a magistrate's court in the city before being remanded in judicial custody.
According to the police, in 2005, Premalatha came to know about an instalment scheme of Seven Hills Real Estate agency, then tun by Sekar and Somasundaram in Ramavaram, through her neighbour Raman, a tailor. After the introduction, the two showed Premalatha pamphlets of the new scheme. According to it, subscribers could pay the required sum through easy instalments for 30 months and get a plot measuring 1,200 sqft at Nandambakkam village near Kundrathur in Kancheepuram district registered in their names. Impressed, Premalatha roped in her sister and her brother and the three joined the scheme in August 2005. They were promised a formal agreement after the entire amount was paid.
They paid all the instalments without fail till December 2007 but Sekar and Somasundaram failed to register the property in their names, Premalatha said in her complaint.
"Meanwhile, the value of land in the area increased manifold and Sekar and Somasundaram began dodging the victims. They claimed that that there was a dispute with the previous owner of the said property and that it could take some more time before it was settled. They also suggested that the three register some other property of same measurements in their names. But Premalatha and her family members refused to accept their offer and approached the city police commissioner T Rajendran and lodged a formal complaint," a CCB police officer said.
Premalatha then verified with the revenue officials concerned and found that the property was still in the name of Somasundaram. Sekar and Somasundaram had told her it was not in any one of their names. The health of Premalatha's mother deteriorated after this problem cropped up and she suffered a nervous breakdown, the police said.
The police have arrested one of the accused but the fate of the said property in Kundrathur is still uncertain.
