A Sivaganga court sentenced former tehsildar and three others to rigorous imprisonment for misappropriating funds close to ₹42 lakh allocated for Sri Lankan Tamils housing loan scheme.
Police sources said, the Government of Tamil Nadu had allocated ₹43.50 lakh between February 1994 and May 1996 for providing housing loans to Sri Lankan Tamils.
The amount was misappropriated by creating fake documents showing it was distributed to 435 Sri Lankan Tamils, and the money was withdrawn in the names of other individuals.
Following an investigation into the matter by the Sivaganga Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption police, a case was registered against nine individuals: the then Devakottai Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) Syed Hussain, Karaikudi tehsildar Sardar, deputy tehsildar Ibrahim, Kalanivasal Village Administrative Officer (VAO) Ramachandran, Assistant Dhanasekaran who worked at the Sivaganga Collectorate, contractor Kathiresan, Muthu alias Saravanamuthu who was the Head of the Sri Lankan Tamil Rehabilitation Center, Dinesh Kumar of Pandian Nagar, Madurai, and Ramar of Melakottai, Thirumangalam.
As the case was tried in the Sivaganga Special Court for anti-corruption cases, Syed Hussain, Ibrahim, Ramachandran, and Dhanasekaran passed away during the course of investigation.
In this case, Judge Anitha Christy, who heard the case, sentenced the accused Sardar, Kathiresan, and Muthu alias Saravanamuthu to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹30,000 each.
She also sentenced Dinesh Kumar and Ramar to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹15,000 each.
Published – December 04, 2025 05:39 pm IST
