Avadi police in Tamil Nadu have arrested Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s K Venkatesan in connection with a land scam worth Rs 2 crore. Venkatesan, it must be noted, is already accused in a red sanders smuggling case from 2015, despite which he was briefly made the state secretary of the BJP’s OBC Morcha in 2022.
The land scam case, according to available reports, is to do with a plot of land in Padianallur, measuring about one acre (23.5 cents). In the police complaint, a man identified as Sulthan has alleged that though the land belongs to him, Venkatesan, another person called Pradeepkumar and his son Nareshkumar have taken over the land. Nareshkumar is also a BJP member and is the party’s Thiruvallur district secretary. Venkatesan also lives in Padianallur. All three accused have been arrested by the Avadi police.
With this, Venkatesan has eight cases in total against him. The 54-year-old has seven cases pending against him at the M4 Redhills Police Station — including an attempt to murder case — and was arrested under the stringent Goondas Act in 2011. He was also registered as a history-sheeter until 2013 when he moved a writ petition before the Madras High Court seeking a cancellation of the history sheet and received a favourable judgement.
In August 2015, the Andhra Pradesh police arrested four high-profile smugglers including Venkatesan, a Dubai-based don’s son, and a smuggler linked to a Bhutan-based module. Venketesan was released in 2016. He is also a former member of the youth wing of the AIADMK and rose through the ranks to become the deputy secretary.