Muthu Mandapam residents win civil case against Anaicut MLA

VELLORE: Attempts by Anaicut DMK MLA and party district secretary AP Nandakumar to take over a 90-foot-long and 20-foot-wide stretch of land, which was the main access to the Vellore new bus stand for the residents of Anna Nagar and Muthu Mandapam areas abutting the Palar, failed as the court ruled in favour of the residents a few days ago.

Nandakumar, his wife Prathiba, power agent Sukumar and the MD of the Poppy’s Anukula Residency Hotel along with the Tangedco junior engineer, Vellore Tahsildar, Vellore Corporation Commissioner and Vellore Collector were the respondents in the case filed by Muthu Mandapam and Anna Nagar residents Ezhumalai, Krishnan, Karikalan, and Krishnamurthy in the Vellore Additional Munsif Court.

“When the hotel connected to Nandakumar tried to take over the land through a sale process citing old documents, residents, who initially agitated unsuccessfully, moved the court in 2021,” said a resident and former AIADMK councillor Pichamuthu.

After hearing the arguments of both the sides, the Additional District Munsif granted a permanent injunction against the MLA and his associates from interfering in the suit property (the pathway) and also ordered them to remove obstacles (sand) placed in the area within a fortnight. The junior engineer of Tangedco was ordered not to remove the transformer or power poles in the area while the involvement of the Collector in the case was dismissed.

While residents were happy, those in the know were wondered by the silence of local AIADMK leaders, who always target the Minister for Water Resources and DMK general secretary Duraimurugan at every given opportunity.

The defeat in this case was also considered the first setback for Nandakumar, who among partymen carries more clout than Vellore MLA P Karthikeyan.