Ex-minister Vaithilingam, son booked in DA case

CHENNAI: Former Housing and Urban Development Minister,R Vaithilingam and his elder son have been booked in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for amassing Rs 32.5 crore more than known sources of income in the check period of May 2011 to April 2016.

According to the state’s anti-corruption agency, the extent of disproportion is 1,057.85 per cent of the total income during the check period.

The Thanjavur detachment had registered the DA case against Vaithilingam and his elder son, Prabhu. According to the FIR, Vaithilingam held the portfolio of the housing and urban development ministry and additional charge as Minister for Agriculture during the check period.

According to DVAC, Vaithilingam had assets worth Rs 36.58 lakh in the name of his wife and elder son at the start of the check period in May 2011. As of March 31, 2016, these assets rose to 34.28 crore, it said. The income derived by Vaithilingam, his wife, and his son was Rs 3.06 crore, while expenses were pegged at Rs 1.62 crore.

On the same day Thanjavur case registration on Thursday, the Chennai vigilance Unit booked the Orathanadu MLA for receiving a Rs 27 crore bribe for providing planning permission for high-rise buildings of Shriram Properties and Infrastructure Private Limited.

The bribe money was routed to a shell company, started by Vaithilingam’s family members, used primarily for the transaction of bribe amount paid to the minister, according to DVAC.

Besides Vaithilingam, DVAC has also booked his sons, V Prabhu, and V Shanmugaprabhu, and brother-in-law, R Panneerselvam – the directors of the shell company, M/s Muthammal Estates pvt ltd, KR Ramesh, the director of M/s Shriram Properties and Infrastructure pvt ltd.

The company had submitted for Planning Permission to CMDA on December 2, 2013, to construct 1453 additional buildings, including residential and IT buildings in the 57. 94-acre land on GST Road in Perungalathur.

The Planning Permit file had been pending with the CMDA from Dec 2, 2013, to February 24, 2016, after which it was approved.

“When the file was pending with Vaithilingam, then Minister for Housing and Urban Development, M/s Shriram Properties paid Rs 27.90 crore as a bribe to the minister for the approval of the planning permission through a circuitous route to avoid direct payment and easier detection,” the DVAC FIR stated.