AIADMK Holds Palani Temple Land Protest, EPS Says Key Accused Still Absconding

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami's party carried out its announced protest in Palani on the morning of July 25, demanding a CBI probe into the alleged irregular registration of land belonging to the Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple trust.

The protest, organised by the AIADMK's Dindigul West district unit, was held around 9:30 am near the Mayil Roundabout in Palani and was led by party treasurer and former minister Dindigul C. Srinivasan.

Addressing the protest, Palaniswami said the registration of temple trust land worth an estimated Rs 100 crore in the names of private individuals had caused widespread outrage among devotees, and repeated his call for the case to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation for an impartial inquiry.

He noted that the state government had itself acknowledged three key accused in the alleged land fraud were still absconding and being searched for by police, and cited this as evidence that the state-level CB-CID probe had yet to make headway.

The protest is the latest AIADMK action targeting the TVK government over the Palani land issue, which the party first raised days earlier and on which it has demanded central intervention.