Chennai: DMK councillor on the run, husband held in cheating case

CHENNAI: The central crime branch police in Tambaram arrested a DMK councillor's husband on Monday and launched a hunt for the councillor for defrauding his sister and usurping their ancestral property valued at ₹25 crore in Navalur. Krishnamurthy, the DMK unit secretary, was sent to jail.
Krishnamurthy's grandmother had left a will in 2003 equally dividing the ancestral property among Krishnamurthy and his siblings Manoharan, Nagamani and Uma Maheshwari.
Police said Krishnamurthy devised a plan to usurp the property. As one of his sisters Nagamani was not cooperating, he invited his other two siblings to the sub-registrar office to execute their grandmother's will. However, he sold the property to businessman Amar Ram, 53, of Sholinganallur in 2017.
Krishnamurthy used his wife Vimala, Chennai Corporation councillor of ward 124 in Mylapore, to impersonate his sister Nagamani and made her sign before the SRO office in Navalur.
Ram settled the amount and registered the property in his name in 2018. After Manoharan realised he was duped by his brother Krishnamurthy, he moved the city civil court in Chengalpet against Krishnamurthy and Ram and prayed that the registration be cancelled.
After Krishnamurthy sold the usurped property to Amar Ram for ₹60 lakh, he realised that the property was worth more. Subsequently, he decided to sell off the property to another realtor for ₹25 crore. Meanwhile, Ram received a call from advocate Senthamizh, who asked to meet him near Marina Beach.
When Ram reached the spot, a gang bundled him and took him to the SRO office blindfolded. The gang threatened him at knife-point and made him sign the property transfer papers at the SRO office, in front of Krishnamurthy and his wife Vimala.
On October 17, Ram filed a police complaint against Krishnamurthy, his wife Vimala and 10 others. Meanwhile, Nagamani filed a separate complaint in Tambaram against Vimala and her busband for impersonation and fraud. A hunt is on for Vimala.