DMK party man files complaint against Minister

Chennai, May 18 (UNI) A Petition was filed in Madras High Court, today seeking a direction to the police to register a complaint against Handloom and Textiles Minister N K K P Raja (DMK), lodged by a DMK cadre, for allegedly threatening him and his family members.

This petition is likely to come up for hearing on May 22.

In his petition, A Karuppanan of Erode District submitted that during the last Assembly elections he applied for a ticket with the DMK Party to contest in the Erode and Modakurichy Assembly constituencies.

Mr Raja, also submitted application for the Erode Assembly ticket with DMK. In an attempt to get the DMK party ticket for the election, Mr Raja forced him to withdraw his candidature, he submitted.

Now, the State Government has announced schedule for conducting the election to the Co-operative societies starting from June 2007 onwards and hence he was making arrangements to contest the post of Erode Co-operative Housing Society President, he added.

He allged that on May 16, 2007, the police came to his residence when he was away in Chennai and threatened his family members anything would happen to them, if he failed to accede to the demands of the said Minister. On the same issue, Raja called him on his mobile and threatened him not to contest and that he would murder him with the help of his henchmen.

Not satisfied with this, Raja also called his daughter and his wife and directed them to prevail over him not to contest and even threatened them that he would influence the police to register false cases under the provisions of Immoral Traffic Act and NDPS Act and then he would arrange his men to kill them, Mr Karuppannan said.

According to Mr Karuppannan on May 17, 2007 he met the Inspector of Police, Soorampatty police station, Erode and requested them to register his complaint. But they refused to meet him and hence he sent the complaint on Speed Post on the same day to them.

He further charged that succumbing to the pressures of the said Minister, police would not register the case. Hence the present petition, he added and also sought police protection to him and to his family members.

Mr Karuppanan submitted that he was a member of ruling DMK party from 1977 and elected as Erode Municipal Councilor from 1996 to 2001 and President of the Erode District Co-operative Housing society as mentioned in the petition.

UNI