Police move ED for attaching properties of two anti-socials

They acquired real estate properties by threatening people, says SSP

On a crackdown: Rajiv Ranjan, Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order), addresses the media in Puducherry on Sunday.

The police have approached the Enforcement Directorate, Chennai Zone, to initiate steps for the seizure, confiscation and attachment of properties owned by two notorious anti-social elements in the Union Territory.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) Rajiv Ranjan said the ED was approached to initiate proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 against Mani alias ‘Murder’ Manikandan and Karuna alias Manoharan.

The police have already identified properties worth crores of rupees owned by the two in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, he said.

Investigation in five cases revealed that the duo had acquired real estate properties by threatening people, Mr. Ranjan said.

The police have decided to move the court for initiating proceedings to attach the properties of another history sheeter, Ramesh alias Senthil of Thattanchavady, who is wanted in a murder case.

The police had obtained a non-bailable warrant against Senthil but he managed to give them the slip.

As part of an ongoing crackdown on history sheeters, the police have approached the district administration to book six more anti-social elements under the Goondas Act.

Mr. Ranjan also informed the press conference of the decision to constitute a Special Investigation Team to probe sand mining cases. The team would be headed by Circle Inspector, Villianur, Arumugam, and supervised by Superintendent of Police, West, K. Gunasekaran.

“The menace of illegal sand mining in Puducherry is an organised and wide spread crime going on for years. It needs a concerted and focussed investigation to uncover the truth and eradicate it,” he said.

Henceforth all cases pertaining to sand mining would be probed by the Special Investigation Team.

Mr. Ranjan said the police had gathered credible information about a few persons involved in the business. Earlier they used to work together. Of late, they had been operating different networks after difference of opinion cropped up over distribution of profit, he said.

The team would first take up the recently registered case in Villianur and submit a report within a month, he added.