A farmer has sought the District Collector’s intervention to help him get back his land which, he alleged, an agent had fraudulently procured on behalf of Adani Group for setting up a solar park in Kamudhi.
Accompanied by his wife, P. Pandi from Arisikuzhuthan, a remote village under Mudalnadu panchayat in Kamudhi taluk, carried a bottle of kerosene to the Collector’s office on Monday and threatened to commit immolation “if he did not get justice.”
Pandi claimed that M. Kandasamy of Valliyur in Tirunelveli district, who was buying land for Adani Group, had “influenced” his son Packiaraj by getting him liquor and registered 2.25 acres of land stating that he [Pandi] had died and that he had bequeathed the land to his son .
Packiaraj had sold the land for Rs. 80,000 and Kandasamy had registered the property in his name on June 15. Pandi claimed that this was part of his five-acre land with patta No. 490, 500 and 501 in Sengapadai group.
Fraud
The fraud came to light when Pandi wanted to pledge a portion of his land and applied for encumbrance clearance last month.
When he tried to lodge a complaint with the local police, they refused to take action stating that it was a civil dispute and he had to approach the court.
After the incident, Packiaraj went missing for 10 days and the police helped to trace his son, Pandi said.
He petitioned the Collector last month to get back his land. As no action was taken, he visited the Collectorate to present a fresh petition.
When contacted, Kandasamy denied any fraud in the deal. “It was Packiaraj who said that his father had died and offered to sell the land,” Kandasamy said. He was willing to return the land but Pandi refused to pay back Rs 1.5 lakh he had taken for 2.15 acres of land.
Kandasamy said that he had so far purchased about 250 acres of land for Adani Group after paying Rs. 65,000 to Rs. 1.10 lakh per acre depending upon the area.
Four others were also purchasing land for the Group and they all would have purchased about 700 acres in Sengapadai, Karisakulam, Mudalnadu, Pudukottai and Seemanadal areas, he said.
The fraud came to light when Pandi wanted to pledge a portion of his land and applied for encumbrance clearance last month.
