CBI gets govt nod to arrest Salim Raj

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has given CBI the permission to prosecute Salim Raj, former gunman of Oommen Chandy when he was the chief minister, in the Kadakampally land grab case.
Senior government officials on Friday confirmed that additional chief secretary (home and vigilance) Nalini Netto allowed CBI's request to prosecute Raj a week ago.
CBI sources, meanwhile, said the Kadakampally case was one among the several such cases. With the agency getting the sanction to prosecute Raj, the trial in the case was likely to begin in the CBI special court here soon. The chargesheet has already been prepared, a source said.
The high court had on March 28, 2014, had a CBI probe into the alleged land grabbing case. The CBI, in its FIR registered on April 24, 2014, said Raj and his associates had held multiple meetings with land owners and pressured them into parting with the land.
The FIR was registered with Raj as the 21st accused and his wife Shamsad, an employee of land revenue com missionerate, as the 22nd accused. Of the 27 persons named in the FIR, accused 20 to 27 were public servants. The district revenue administration in its inquiries related to the case had earlier unearthed several instances in which the perpetrators had created fake thandapers and used thandapers in others' name for land transactions at various sub-registrar offices.
The 44.50 acres, worth crores in Kadakampally village, is in a fast-developing area, thanks to its proximity to Technopark. Of the 44.50 acres, transaction of land was carried out in various sub-registrar offices at Varkala, Pothencode and principal sub-registrar office, Thiruvananthapuram, using fake thandaper numbers.