The Special Court for the trial of cases registered under the Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (TNPID) Act in Coimbatore on Thursday awarded 10 years imprisonment to three persons in one of the many emu scams that rocked western Tamil Nadu nearly a decade ago.
The three persons convicted in the case include S. Yuvaraj (41), the main accused in the murder of Gokulraj, who belonged to a Scheduled Caste community, at Pallipalayam in Namakkal district in June 2015 in an alleged case of caste killing.
As per the chargesheet filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the police, Yuvaraj from Akkamapettai in Salem district, S. Tamizhnesan (34) from Thiruvenkitampalayampudur near Perundurai in Erode district and C. Vasu (52) from Nehru Street at Soorampatti in Erode district ran Suthi Emu Farms, Suthi Emu Farms Private Limited and Suthi Emu Farms and Hosieries at Perundurai in Erode district in 2011. Yuvaraj was the director of the emu farms with Tamizhnesan as the business partner and Vasu as the manager. According to the EOW, the accused lured investors through various schemes offering high monthly returns for rearing emus. A total of 121 people from Salem, Erode, Namakkal and other districts invested ₹ 2.70 crore with the firms run by the accused.
However, several investors complained that they did not get the monthly returns.
The EOW registered a case against the firms and the accused based on a complaint lodged by Palanisamy of Tiruchengode in Namakkal district. Yuvaraj, Tamizhnesan and Vasu were arrested by the police. Judge A.S. Ravi sentenced the three men to undergo 10 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹ 2.47 crore on them.
The judge issued a non-bailable warrant against Tamizhnesan who did not appear before the court.
