City police on Sunday arrested liquor baron Mohan alias ‘Midas' Mohan (59), for allegedly cheating an AIADMK functionary from Vellore.
Mohan, managing director of Midas Golden Distilleries, is an associate of the family of V. K. Sasikala, a former aide of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Mohan was among the 14 people, including Ms. Sasikala and her husband M. Natarajan and their relatives and friends, expelled by Ms. Jayalalithaa from the party in December last.
The arrest was made following a complaint from one Hari Thulasiraman, who claimed that he had paid Rs. 50 lakh to Mohan seeking a party ticket to contest in the mayoral elections held last year.
However, when he did not get the ticket, he asked Mohan to return the money. Hari Thulasiraman said that Mohan refused to repay the amount and instead threatened him with dire consequences.
On Saturday Hari Thulasiraman filed a complaint with the office of the Commissioner of Police in Chennai. On Sunday around 6.30 a.m., the Sastri Nagar police arrested Mohan from his house in Parameshwari Nagar.
He was then taken to the house of the 12th Metropolitan Magistrate in Saidapet, who remanded him in custody and sent to Puzhal jail.
Fresh case against Natarajan
Special Correspondent writes from Thanjavur:
The Vilar police have registered a fresh case of land grabbing against M.Natarajan, husband of Sasikala, former aide of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, and V.Mahadevan, son of Sasikala's brother late Vinodhagan, here on Sunday.
The case was registered based a complaint from Amala Pushpa Mary of Vilar village near Thanjavur alleging that Natarajan, Mahadevan and a few others have forcibly grabbed two grounds of her land measuring 4800 square feet near Vilar.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against the two and others in the case. As Natarajan has already been arrested and lodged in the Tiruchi Central Prison in connection with a few other cases, a police team led by Josh Thangiah, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Thanjavur town, went to Mahadevan's house at Arulananda Nagar to arrest him. As he was not available there, they are on the lookout for him.