HC orders removal of panchayat prez for grabbing Rs 20-cr assets

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court (HC) directed the Tiruvarur district collector to remove the Serankulam village panchayat president from the post after it was exposed that she had forged documents and grabbed Rs 20 crore worth of property.

Justice N Anand Venkatesh heard the suo motu contempt initiated for not apprehending the Serankulam village panchayat president M Amutha in the criminal case.

“It is quite unfortunate that a panchayat president was involved in a serious offense of impersonation and grabbing of property”, observed the judge. Even after the Supreme Court directed her to surrender, she continues to abscond and is not willing to subject herself to the due process of law,” the judge observed. “This conduct does not augur well to the post she holds,” said the judge and directed the collector of Tiruvarur to remove her from the post.

The counsel appeared for the Crime Branch CID (CB-CID) submitted an affidavit stating that the agency has taken all the steps to apprehend Amutha. The counsel also submitted that CB-CID has completed the investigation and a charge sheet against Amutha has been filed before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tiruvarur.

The issue came to light after a litigant R Roseline filed a petition in HC stating that Amutha in association with her husband’s brother Raja and forged documents and grabbed a family property that was entitled to her mother-in-law and daughter after her husband’s death.

The litigant contended that Amutha produced a fake death certificate of her mother-in-law and forged a legal heir certificate. Another associate of Amutha reportedly impersonated Roseline with a forged ration card and executed a deed to grab the property. The local police did not take any action against Amutha as she has political nexus, said the litigant.