QChennai: Sekar Reddy’s Diary Exposes Links with Ministers & More

Here is your roundup of the top stories from Chennai.

The contents of the diary, first published in The Week magazine, show at least five transactions in which the name “OPS” or the name of his secretary Ramesh have been written.

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

1. Were OPS, Other TN Mininsters on Mining Baron Sekar Reddy's Payroll?

Grab of Sekar Reddý’s alleged secret diary(Photo Courtesy: The News MInute)

If contents of a diary seized by the Income Tax department from industrialist and mining baron Sekar Reddy are to be believed, then half of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet was on his payroll.

Five pages of the diary, which have notings on some days between April and November 2016, show alleged payments made to many ministers and MLAs part of the AIADMK, and various others, to the tune of over Rs 48 crore.

It is the name of the man who started a ‘dharmayuddham’ in Tamil Nadu – Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam – that allegedly stars most number of times in the pages that have been accessed. Though diary entries are being investigated by the I-T department, and nothing is conclusive, a nexus between the ruling class of Tamil Nadu and the mining baron has been hinted at by several people over the last few months. The diary goes on to add fuel to these allegations.

Read the full story here.

2. 'Can't Share Thumbprint'

It’s been a year since the demise the death of chief minister J Jayalalithaa, and the cause of her death is still murky.(Photo Courtesy: Reuters)

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday, 8 December, told the Madras High Court that it cannot comply with the court’s November 24 order to submit former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s thumbprints saying there is a statutory bar on sharing core biometric information provided by those who apply for Aadhaar cards.

The submission was made before Justice P Velmurugan, who was hearing a petition that the thumb impressions reportedly affixed by Jayalalithaa on the documents related to the byelection at Tirupparankundram during her hospitalisation last year, were not genuine. However, jailor KN Mohan Kumar of Parappana Agrahara prison in Karnataka submitted thumbprints were as per the judge’s directive.

(Source: The Hindu)

3. 'It Was Emotional': Shafin Jahan Meets Hadiya at Her Salem College

Hadiya and her husband Shafin Jahan.(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Shafin Jahan)

Hadiya, the 24-year-old Muslim woman in the eye of the recent ‘love jihad’ controversy over her marriage to Shafin Jahan, met him at Salem College. The meeting was recorded by the CCTV cameras placed in the room.

Jahan said that the meeting was extremely emotional as the two were meeting after many months. “The meeting was so emotional. Hadiya was so happy … She had a lot to share with me as we were meeting after a long time.”

Read the full story here.

4. Hasini's Alleged Killer Re-Arrested. Will Cops Hold Onto Him Now?

File image of accused Dhasvanth. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Dasvanth, the accused in the murder and sexual assault of seven-year-old Hasini and a suspect in the murder of his mother, has been rearrested in Mumbai on Friday, 8 December. This comes a day after the 23-year-old techie had escaped from police custody in Mumbai.

According to reports, he was found a few kilometres from where he had escaped. Reports suggest that he will be produced before a magistrate in Mumbai on Friday, 8 December, before being brought to Chennai. Dhasvanth was first arrested on Wednesday by a special team of Chennai Police from the Chembur Race Course. However, a day later, while Dhasvanth was being taken to the Mumbai airport, he escaped.

Read the full story here.

5. HC Takes Serious View of Posters Defacing Walls on Greenways Road

In In Tamil Nadu alone, does walls get defaced to such an extent, said the court.(Photo Courtesy: iStock)

Two judges of the Madras High Court on Friday, 8 December, described as “shameful” numerous political posters having defaced almost every other wall at Greenways Road where Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, many other ministers and most of the High Court judges reside in government allotted bungalows.

Justices TS Sivagnanam and K Ravichandrabaabu broached the subject during the hearing of a writ appeal preferred by Greater Chennai Corporation. The appeal challenged a direction issued by Justice S Vaidyanathan to the State government to ban the use of pictures of living persons in flex boards, banners, hoardings and such other publicity materials.

(Source: The Hindu)

6. In RK Nagar, Three Dhinakarans and Two Madhusudanans

Since the demsie of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa nearly a year ago, the RK Nagar seat has been vacant.(Photo: The Quint/ Rhythum Seth)

They come from different parts of the city — two from Vyasarpadi, and the others from Gopalapuram, Manali and Triplicane — but what unites five Independent candidates in the RK Nagar byelection is that they have the same name as two prominent candidates.

There are three other “Dhinakarans” apart from TTV in the final list of 59 candidates. On the ballot, Dinakaran K, Thinakaran G and Dinakaran M appear ahead of the former AIADMK deputy general secretary.

(Source: The Hindu)

7. Encroachments on Peerkankaranai Watercourse Removed

Continuing their drive against encroachments in the city’s southern suburbs, the Kancheepuram district officials had launched exercise along the Adyar river in Anakaputhur.(Photo Courtesy: Wikimapia/ dangkhoasp)

Braving residents’ protests, Revenue officials removed pucca structures located on the surplus watercourse near Peerkankaranai Lake on Friday, 8 December. Tension gripped the areas around Sriram Nagar under ward 1 of Peerkankaranai Town Panchayat, when some residents protested against the eviction drive.

According to the residents, revenue officials had informed them that 78 buildings constructed on the channel would be demolished and they had been vacating their homes on their own. But the officials began marking on the walls of houses that were not encroachments. This caused tension and the residents, were pacified by senior police officials.

(Source: The Hindu)