FILE photo: Former DMK leader MK Alagiri
The Madurai police have filed a First Information Report or FIR against DMK chief M Karunanidhi's son, MK Alagiri on charges of land grabbing. While the police are yet to take a call on arresting the former Union minister, sources close to Mr Alagiri say the charges are politically motivated.
According to the complaint, the Dhaya College of Engineering outside Madurai has encroached upon 44 cents of a temple land using forged documents, said a police officer. The college is owned by an educational trust headed by Mr Alagiri.
A complaint on similar charges had been filed a few months ago by one Ramalingam, who represented the Madurai District Farmer's Welfare Association. But it was not clear if Wednesday's FIR was based on that complaint, which said land belonging to a temple had been fraudulently registered in Mr Alagiri's name using fake documents.
The FIR comes a month after the Madras High Court directed the Anna University to grant provisional affiliation to the new college. While the government had objected, citing the land grab complaint, Mr Alagiri had blamed it on political vendetta.
A few years ago, when he was the Union Minister, another land grab complaint was filed against Mr Alagiri. Following investigations, he was given a clean chit.
"We are examining all documents. Only after we finish the job, we will be in a position to decide about the arrest," a police officer said.
In March, Mr Alagiri was expelled from the DMK for anti-party activities. Over the last few weeks, there has been a buzz that the party is set to take him back following a peace deal between Mr Alagiri and his father and DMK chief Mr Karunanidhi.
Mr Alagiri is believed to be in Madurai. Sources close to him say he is likely to seek anticipatory bail on Thursday.