Chennai: Cops hunt for TTV Dhinakaran MLA in Kodagu

Chennai: The MLAs of TTV Dhinakaran faction of the AIADMK seem to be under severe heat from the Tamil Nadu police. On Monday, a team from the Central Crime Branch of the city police registered a cheating case against Karur MLA Senthil Balaji, former state transport minister, and launched a hunt for him in Kodagu district, where the now disqualified MLAs are reportedly holed up.

Less than a week ago, the CB-CID of the state police named former higher education minister, P. Palaniappan, an MLA from Pappireddipatti, as a suspect in the suicide of a Namakkal-based contractor four months ago. City police sources said that the case against Senthil Balaji pertains to an allegation that the former transport minister had collected Rs 2.5 crore from over 40 persons through his men, promising them jobs in the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) in the state.

CCB registered a case based on a complaint by V. Ganesh Kumar of Ambattur, according to which, an amount of Rs 95 lakh was paid to the MLA through his relatives in 2014-15 at his residence in RA Puram.

The complainant further claimed that he was threatened by his relatives when he demanded to return the money. A CCB team has camped in Kodagu district and is on the lookout for the MLA who is said to have escaped from the resort where they were holed up. His relatives Prabhu, Sahaya Rajan and Anna Raj were also included in the case.

Police officers deny that the MLAs of TTV faction are being framed as a means of political bullying. “There is no pressure on us. We are going by evidences available,” a police officer said.