When lawmakers break the law

Abduction, fraud and attempt to murder are not unusual cases, but they become so when those charged with committing them are the lawmakers themselves.

Three ministers in the state Cabinet are facing serious charges, and cases are proceeding against two of them at the Madras High Court and its Madurai Bench. Charges against the third one have been filed by a deputy collector who approached the Rights Panel.

State Handlooms Minister N K K P Raja, son of a former minister and senior DMK leader, is facing charges of abduction and land-grabbing in his home district, Erode. According to N Elangovan, a villager from Erode, the minister’s henchmen had abducted his wife Malarvizhi and her family and had held them against their will in an effort to usurp a 10-acre tract. In a habeas corpus petition before the Madras High Court, he pleaded with the court to intervene and provide them security. When the allegedly abducted persons were brought to the court during the hearing, Elangovan claimed that they were set free because of the court case. The court directed the police to provide protection and house the family in Chennai till the case was settled.

This case found particular favour with the media. Raja, needless to say, has denied the allegations — in a very local style. In a land where every political party has a television channel, Raja faced the cameras of his own King TV and said to his electorate, “I am innocent and a victim of a political vendetta. There is no truth in the allegations,” adding that he would give a “fitting reply” in the court.

The second minister in the dock is Tourism Minister N Suresh Rajan, and he stands accused of attacking and abusing a Government employee. In an incident that took place three months ago, the minister and his men, including a government pleader, attacked Deputy Collector S Janardhanan and abused him, maliciously invoking his caste name. The official, a Dalit, was in charge of the distribution of free colour TVs, which were promised by the DMK during the last Assembly poll.

After the local Kanyakumari district police station failed to act on his complaint, the official approached the District Collector and Police Superintendent. There were attempts to sort out the issue out of court, but Janardhanan approached the Rights Panel last week and lodged a complaint.

Minister Suresh Rajan; his assistants Ramasamy and Sheik Dawood; Government Pleader Mahesh and another advocate, Tamarai Bharathi, were named in the FIR. The charges included attempt to murder and atrocities against an SC/ST.

... contd.

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