HC seeks police’s reply to ex-minister’s AB plea

CHENNAI: Justice G Chandrasekharan of the Madras High Court directed Manjoor police in The Nilgiris district to file its response on a petition filed by former minister and AIADMK leader Budhichandran seeking anticipatory bail in an attempt to murder case.

Seeking anticipatory bail, Budhichandran also sought a direction to quash the case filed by the Manjoor police under Sections 427 (property damage), 447 (criminal trespass) and 506(i) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The former minister claimed he was merely trying to purchase the property of one Raju. “As Raju was a DMK man, he created problems and made the police to file a case against me under political vendetta,” he said in his petition.

Denying the charges against him, Budhichandran said he did not raze the tea plantations owned by the complainant Raju. According to Raju, the complainant, the former minister through his aide, D Bheeman, approached him to sell his 15.82 cent tea estate.

When Raju refused to sell the land, the AIADMK leader’s man threatened that they would use an earthmover and damage his tea plantation.