HYDERABAD: CSK is popular across India as the Indian Premier League’s Chennai franchisee — Chennai Super Kings. But in the Old City, CSK stands for Chimanlal Suresh Kumar — a textile trader, in his late 50s, who is said to be part of a real estate mafia.
He is reported to be responsible for encroaching on the land of the Nizam era’s Rukn-Ud-Dowla lake at Shastripuram, where recently the HYDRAA dismantled 13 multi-storey buildings and 11 boundary walls.
According to sources, Suresh Kumar had purchased the lake land from Mohammed Khader and started a real estate venture on over 11 acres in a partnership with the King’s Group.
Before starting the venture, he got his men to fill up the lake over a period of eight years, according to one Anwar Kamal. Suresh Kumar allegedly made over `400 crore by cheating hundreds of buyers.
“We were told that the land does not come under the lake and can be registered. So we paid money to Suresh Kumar’s men. After HYDRAA demolished the structures, we have lost our hopes on life,” said Safia Begum, who bought a 300-square yard plot.
Suresh Kumar prepared documents to get the land on his eldest son’s name, reliable sources said.
The sources said Suresh Kumar used his political connections to mortgage the encroached land and later sold it to customers. After the HYDRAA dismantled the illegal buildings, Suresh Kumar went underground, sources said.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Dr Lubna Sarwath, an activist-politician, said the lake land was being encroached since 2014. “In 2022, I was shocked to see that the lake was dumped with debris, and roads and sewer lines were laid in the land where the lake existed,” she said and added that she ahd lodged a complaint with HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath.
An associate said Suresh Kumar used to throw high-profile parties at his farmhouse in Kothur. He used to target a business community because he thought they would not go to the police. He also allegedly cheated Surat-based textile traders.
However, one Narikuda Sajjan complained to the police after Suresh Kumar cheated him in a construction contract despite taking money. Based on his, the Cyberabad police arrested Suresh Kumar at Shadnagar on March 13, 2020.
About 10 years ago, Suresh Kumar faced a cheating case filed with the Moinabad police. Subsequently, he is named in seven cases involving cheating, forgery and threatening cases.
