SALEM: Former minister for Agriculture Veerapandi S Arumugam’s chances of getting released from jail on Monday suffered a serious setback as the Salem City Police booked him as the prime accused in another case and moved the court for a formal arrest in the Kovai prison itself.Veerapandi Arumugam was to be released on bail on Monday. However, he was named as accused number 1, along with sixteen others, including his son and former MLA of Veerapandi constituency A Raja. Eight of the accused, including former Salem Revenue Divisional Officer A Balagurusamy and Tasidhar Sree Ranganathan, were arrested and remanded today. The case was filed based on a fresh review of a complaint lodged by Premnath, partner of Coimbatore Jewellers, in 2007. The petitioner in his complaint has stated that the former minister wanted to sell his 2,100 sqft land located adjacent to the Angammal Colony, which was alleged to have been usurped by Veerapandi Arumugam and his associates. Arumugam wanted to attach the land of Premnath in Anngammal Colony.Being a prime land located next to the Salem New Bus Stand, Coimbatore Jewellers also had plans to start a showroom on their land. Due to this, they turned down Veerapandi Arumugam’s request. But the ex-minister allegedly issued threats to the jewellers asking them to give the land. All the accused in the case were directly involved in further intimidating the jewellers, according to the complaint.In connection with the above complaint, the City Crime Branch booked cases against Veerapandi Arumugam and sixteen others including, A Raja, K Suresh Kumar nephew of Veerapandi Arumugam, Sekar (Veerapandi Arumugam’s personal assistant), Koushika Boopathy (Veerapandi Arumugam’s political PA), DMK councillor Gym Ramu, Inspector Lakshmanan, former Tahsildar of Salem Sree Ranganathan (retired and presently Manager at VSA Engineering College run by Veerapandi Arumugam), A Balagurumoorthy former RDO of Salem, Azhagapuram Murali, Prakash, John, Narayanan, Advocate Deivalingam, and Saravanan.Cases under sections 147, 148, 447, 386, 387, 307, 506 /2, B1 of Tamil Nadu Public Property Destruction Prevention Act.Simultaneously the City police moved the JM Court II seeking the formal arrest of Veerapandi Arumugam lodged in the Kovai prison. But due to procedural problems the Magistrate in-charge, Sri Vidya delayed her decision and did not issue the warrant. Arumugam’s lawyers objected to the formal arrest and moved a plea for a “Produce in Person warrant”. Meanwhile the court sent his bail bond in the previous case to the Kovai prison . A team of Salem City Police were also rushed to Kovai to either carry out a formal or a regular arrest, if he was released from the prison. Finally the magistrate who was not satisfied with the reasons cited by the prosecution for a formal arrest rejected the plea. It is now left to the police to arrest Arumugam either after he emerges out of the prison or after he reaches home.
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