Raja's brother arrested on charges of 'bribing' voters

Tiruchirappalli (TN), Apr 11: Former Telecom Minister A Raja's brother has been arrested on charges of "bribing" voters in Perumbalur district in the run up to the April 13 Tamil Nadu assembly polls, police said today (Apr 11).

A Kaliaperumal was allegedly caught "red-handed" last night while distributing money at Labbakudi Kadu and Irayur, the second time he has been involved in such an incident in as many days. He was produced before a court which released him on bail, they said.

Kaliaperumal, a businessman, has been slapped with cases under various sections of IPC, including bribery and violation of Representation of People's Act. Police said they also seized some calendars and diaries from his possession.

On April 9, police had taken Kaliaperumal into custody for allegedly distributing money to Self Helf Women Groups and a case was registerd against him following strong protests from opposition parties as well as locals and intervention by Election Commission. He was later let off by police.

The Enforcement Directorate and the CBI had questioned Kaliaperumal in February in connection with the 2G Spectrum scam, in which Raja has been arrested.

The investigating agencies are probing if his firms had acted as fronts for the former telecom minister.

PTI