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Thursday, 26 March 2015

Swift Police Action Averts Communal Clash Over Land

By J Shanmugha Sundaram

Published: 26th March 201

VELLORE: With the Wakf Board reasserting its claim to the 1.5 acre parcel of land in Mathina Nagar in Karugampathur, ownership of which has long been in dispute, simmering tension between the Hindu and Muslim communities manifested visibly on Wednesday. Around 100 members of the Hindu Munnani turned up on the piece of land where 150 Muslims were already present, seeking to tear down thatched huts put up by the Muslims.

The police acted swiftly, deployed a large force and issued a warning to members of the Hindu Munnani and the Muslims, asking them to disperse, thwarting a possible communal clash.

The Muslim community erected a banner on the piece of land stating ,“The land in survey numbers 141-1, 141-2, 141-3, 125-1, 125-2, 125-3 and 125-4 belong to the Wakf Board. Do not buy it or sell it,” on Wednesday, stoking tension between the two communities. Further, they also erected thatched huts on the disputed land. The banner and the thatched huts goaded members of the Hindu Munani to gather in the vicinity in an attempt to remove the thatched huts. Muslims, all members of Haji Abdullah Sha Qadri Tomb and Masjid had congregated on the land earlier reasserting their claim that the land had always belonged to the Wakf Board and refused to leave the place.

The police cautioned all protestors gathered on the land that the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) of Vellore would conduct an inquiry on the ownership of the land and issued a warning to both communities not to enter the disputed land or attempt to erect any kind of structure on the land.

Invoking Section 107 (security for keeping the peace) of CrPC, the RDO of Vellore held peace talks with representatives of both the Muslim and Hindu communities on Wednesday. During this meeting, one Ajuthan and his wife Prema of Kosapet claimed they had purchased the land two decades ago and showed legal documents proving ownership.

“The Muslims too produced a patta dating back to 1930 that revealed that the land belongs to the Wakf Board. But the Encumbrance Certificate does not substantiate their claims,” said an official, privy to the peace talks. Preliminary inquiries held during the peace talks thus revealed that the land probably belongs to Ajuthan and his wife which has been communicated to the members of the Masjid.

Further verification of documents produced by both the parties will take place on April 9 when an inquiry will be conducted by the RDO after which further course of action will be taken.

With the possibility of anti-social elements triggering communal clashes during this hiatus, the police took the added precaution of getting written assurances from representatives of both the communities.

“We have obtained written assurances from both the parties not to create any law and order issues. The Muslims have also said they would like to remove the thatched huts on their own,” said the official.

Wednesday, 25 March 2015

Paedophile Murderer Awarded 23-year Rigorous Imprisonment

VELLORE:A 50- year-old temple priest was sentenced to 23-year rigorous imprisonment (RI) by the Mahila Court in Vellore on Tuesday for abducting, sexually abusing and murdering a five-year-old girl 3 years ago.

Kumar being taken to the court complex on Tuesday | s dinesh

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him. The Judge A Nazeer Ahmed found the accused, Kumar (alias) Kumara Gurukal of Pandiyan Nagar in Gudiayttam, guilty of abduction, sexual abuse, homicide and concealment of evidence. The five-year-old child, Lakshmi (name changed), was studying in Class I in Annai Indira Gandhi Middle School at Pandiyan Nagar.

She went missing after lunch break on September 19, 2011. The girl’s father filed a missing person case with Gudiyattam Town Police. On September 21, two days after the girl went missing, residents found the girl’s body floating in a well near Gurukal’s house.

Police recovered her footwear and bangles from the priest’s house and on interrogation, he confessed to the crime and that he had lured the girl with

chocolates. When the girl resisted his advances and cried for help the priest smothered her to death and wrapped the body in a gunny bag and threw it in the well, according to Additional Public Prosecutor, E Sivajothi. Gurukal was sentenced under Sections 366(kidnapping, abducting, inducing for illicit intercourse),304 (ii) (culpable homicide) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of IPC.

Under each of these sections, the Judge awarded 10 years rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 with all sentences to run concurrently.

Tuesday, 24 March 2015

Cops Cleaned Up Accident Site to Shield Collector

VELLORE: The DMK leader and Katpadi MLA, Durai Murugan, alleged that the police department is attempting to protect the Vellore Collector R Nanthagopal, from being charged for Sunday’s late-night accident, which claimed the life of a 23 year-old youth and left another youth with serious injuries at Sevur.

After staging a ‘road roko’ along the Vellore-Katpadi Road at the Chittoor Bus Stand, Durai Murugan told Express that “the police department is bending rules and regulations, which should be followed in such accident cases,in a bid to save the Collector.”

A policeman carrying a detached wheel of the scooter, which was involved in the accident, near Sevur on Sunday | s dinesh

Contrary to what was reported on Sunday, the DMK leader, citing eye-witnesses, alleged, “The Collector was behind the wheels of the speeding car that hit the two-wheeler driven by Raj Kumar with his friend Udhya Suriyan riding the pillion.”

Murugan alleged that the Collector was heading towards Vellore after attending a cocktail party in a club in Karnampattu.

Raj Kumar, son of panchayat president of Karnampattu Valarmathi Kasinathan, and his friend Udhaya Suriyan were heading towards Sevur on Kumar’s two-wheeler, while the Collector’s car was coming from the opposite direction.

“The accident occurred on the left side of the road towards Sevur. This clearly indicates that the Collector’s car had veered towards the right and hit the two-wheeler. When I visited the site of the accident around 11 pm on Sunday, there was no physical evidence of an accident,” said the former minister.

The former minister added, “To cover up facts, the police took immense precaution and cleared all evidence of the accident within 20 to 30 minutes.”

The villagers of Sevur alleged that police personnel removed all broken parts of the two-wheeler and ferried it away in an auto. The Collector’s car had also been driven away from the site of the accident.

“As per rules, a brake-inspector and Traffic Police personnel should inspect the site of the accident and inspect the vehicles involved in the accident. They have to mark the accident spot. But everything was overlooked in this case,” he said.

He also alleged that the Collector, who is also the district magistrate, instead of helping the accident victims, fled from the site of the accident in another vehicle.

Superintendent of Police of Vellore P K Senthil Kumari told Express that a case has been registered under section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of IPC in Katpadi Station.

When asked whether the Collector was driving the car, the SP said, “It is under investigation” .

Monday, 23 March 2015

Sand Smuggler Mows Down Constable

VELLORE: A 43-year-old head constable attached to the Thakkolam police station was on Sunday mowed down by a sand smuggler, a councillor’s son, when the policeman tried to stop him from smuggling sand from the Kosasthalaiyar riverbed near Purusai village.

The police have launched a manhunt for D Suresh of Thakkolam in connection with the incident. He is the son of 6th ward councillor of Thakkolam panchayat, D Senbagavalli, and DMDK treasurer (Thakkolam unit) Devaraj.

The incident occurred between 7.30 am and 7.45 am on the riverbed when constable

G Kanagaraj tried to pull Suresh from the tractor. Special sub-inspector Rajan and Kanagaraj, acting on a tip-off about illegal mining on the riverbed, rushed to the spot on a two-wheeler. It was their second case of the day. After reaching the spot, the duo waved their hands signaling the youth, who was behind the wheel of the tractor, to stop the vehicle. However, he did not budge and tried to speed up from the riverbed. Immediately, Kanagaraj climbed on to the tractor and collared Suresh in a bid to stop him from escaping.

However, he dodged Kanagaraj and pushed him from the tractor. Kanagaraj fell between the tractor and the trolley loaded with sand and was caught under the rear wheel. “The constable was caught beneath the right rear wheel of the trolley and was crushed. He got up and walked a few steps, before collapsing,” Ranipet Revenue Divisional Officer M Priyadharshini told Express, quoting the only eyewitness Rajan.

Rajan escaped unhurt as he was standing aside, while Suresh sped away in the tractor. He immediately alerted the other policemen in the station. “Kanagaraj was transferred to the Thakkolam station from Banavaram about five months ago,” said the officer.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (Vellore Range) R Tamil Chandran and Superintendent of Police of Vellore P Vijayakumar visited the spot and conducted an inquiry. Kanagaraj’s body was shifted to the GH in Arakkonam for autopsy. He is survived by his wife Muthukumari and adopted daughter Mohana, who was studying Class XII. His body was handed over to his family after postmortem late in the evening.

Kanagaraj had joined the police force as a constable in 1997 and served in different stations in Chennai. He was transferred to Banavaram in Vellore in February. From there, he was transferred to Thakkolam before the Parliamentary election.

Jaya orders `10 l compensation to kin

Chennai: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Sunday expressed grief over the death of head constable Kanagaraj, who was killed while attempting to stop illegal sand mining in Thakkolam. “I offer my deepest condolences to the family of head constable Kanagaraj, who was killed while serving with duty consciousness. I have ordered that his family be paid a solatium of `10 lakh from the Chief Minister’s General Relief Fund,” said the Chief Minister.

Accident-prone Chitheri rewinds to 2011 train crash

Chitheri, a village situated around 7 km away from the Arakkonam Railway Junction in Vellore district, has been frequently witnessing train accidents for the past five to seven years. More than 100 passengers have sustained injuries in rail accidents at the spot since September 2011, reports said.

“Train accidents have become common here. Since 2007, a total of 12 accidents have taken place on this spot. This includes three accidents involving express trains and one passenger train. Goods trains frequently derail here. The main reason for the accidents is the poor maintenance of joining point of the loop line and the main line between Chitheri and Anwarthikhanpet,” claimed joint secretary of Arakkonam railway passengers association J K Raghunathan.

However, the worst among the accidents was the one on September 13, 2011, in which 11 passengers of the Arakkonam-Katpadi Passenger were killed and 76 others were injured when a speeding Chennai-Beach Cantonment Mainline EMU rammed a passenger train.

The victims, all from Mel Avatham, Kezh Avatham, Chitheri, Anawarthikhanpet and Melgandigai villages in Arakkonam taluk, were returning in the passenger train after work in Chennai.

The MEMU rammed the rear of the slow-moving passenger train, an accident that the railway officials called ‘human error’.

The police, in the 395-page chargesheet, stated that MEMU driver A Rajkumar, who was speaking on the phone while driving, jumped the red signal and violated the speed limit. This had led to the collision.

Krish Kumar, who was working as the Station Master in Walajapet Railway Station and a resident of Mullipalayam, was one of the victims.

Kumar had boarded the passenger train after buying a gift for his son’s first birthday. Wednesday’s accident occurred just a kilometre away from the spot of the 2011 accident.

Former Pattali Makkal Katchi MP from Arakkonam R Velu, who urged the railway authorities to take action to prevent such accidents in the future, also called upon his party men to arrange for special pujas with the help of the residents of Chitheri and neighbouring villages, at the spot.

He further said that the railway officials were continuing with the blame game after every such accident, but they failed to act to prevent such accidents and ensure the safety of the railway passengers.

Surendaran of Chitheri claimed a major accident occurred 17 years ago near their village. A speeding express train hit a stationed goods train in the accident and claimed more than 50 people’s lives

Murky deals: Special teams dissolved

Superintendent of Police of Vellore I Eswaran dissolved special teams, which were formed to conduct surprise raids against illegal activities such as gambling, selling of lotteries and illicit liquor, after the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) exposed several underhand activities of police personnel in the teams.

Police department sources said the SP had constituted the teams to conduct raids and crack down on those involved in gambling, selling of lotteries and illicit liquor. It was led by two SIs, each handling five constables. However, a few officials in the teams were allegedly in cahoots with anti-social elements and making money out of them, instead of taking action against them.

The SP dissolved the team recently, after a confidential report from the Vellore unit of the DVAC against alleged activities of SI J Anandan and two of his team members. “The SI had allegedly been making money from sand mafias, bootleggers and lottery sellers in several parts of the district,” a reliable source in the department said.

This came to light when three members of the SP special team targeted Vinayagam, who ran a brick kiln at Thuthipattu near Kaniyambadi, and had demanded Rs 10,000 from him. When DVAC learnt about the incident, they planned to nab the SI and two other policemen in the team red-handed.

However, the SI did not turn up to receive the cash and directed the brick kiln owner to hand over the money to one Ganeshan, who was running an electronic gadget shop in Burma Bazaar, on October 5. The DVAC personnel picked him for inquiry. On interrogation, Ganeshan spilled the beans that SI Anandan had called him and had asked to take the money from Vinayagam. DVAC officials have sent reports to directorate at Chennai and to SP office Vellore.

Sunday, 22 March 2015

Civic Chief's Son Killed by Collector's Car in Vellore

VELLORE:A youth riding a motorbike was killed and his pillion rider was seriously injured on Sunday night, when the duo hit Vellore Collector R Nanthagopal’s car on the Katpadi-Arcot Road near Sevur.

The deceased was identified as Raj Kumar(23), son of Karnampattu panchayat president, Kasi. Udhya Suriyan (25), riding pillion, of the same village, sustained head injuries and was admitted to the CMC Hospital.

The Collector Nanthagopal was inside the car which was being driven by his driver, Mohan, an ex-serviceman, when the accident occurred.

Villagers of Karanampattu and Sevur gathered in large numbers at the scene of the accident. Police department deployed a contingent at the spot to ensure peace and prevent violence. Villagers claimed that poor lighting along the stretch often resulted in accidents in that area.

According to police, the Collector was heading towards Vellore from Ranipet. The accident occurred at about 10 pm when the duo, entering the main road, hit the right side of the Collector’s car. In the impact, Raj Kumar was killed on the spot. Police said Mohan, an ex-serviceman, was behind the wheel of the Collector’s car. They also said that the personal assistant who was accompanying the Collector called 108 Ambulance service immediately to take Suriyan, who was injured, to the CMC Hospital.

SP of Vellore, P K Senthil Kumari, confirmed that the Collector was inside the car and that the duo on the motorbike were entering the main road from an interior road and collided with Collector’s car on the right side.