Granite mining scam: Alagiri's son questioned by police

Chennai: Union Minister MK Alagiri's son Durai Dayanidhi was grilled by police in Tamil Nadu's Madurai in connection with illegal mining of granite by a company in which he was a director.

A prime accused in the case, Dayanidhi was on the run for several months till the Madras High Court in December quashed the non-bailable warrant issued against him. The court stipulated that Dayanidhi present himself and sign a register at a police station in Madurai.

On Thursday, Dayanidhi accompanied by a batch of lawyers, presented himself before police for questioning in connection with the mining of granite by Olympus Granite.

Dayanidhi was on the run for several months till the Madras High Court in December quashed the non-bailable warrant issued against him.

The AIADMK government started its crackdown on illegal granite quarries in the Madurai region after former Madurai collector U. Sahayam, in a report, estimated the losses incurred from illegal granite mining at around Rs.16,000 crore.

Dayanidhi was director of Olympus Granite, one of the companies under the government scanner for illegal quarrying.

DMK president M Karunanidhi, the grandfather of Dayanidhi, also demanded a detailed investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the allocation of granite quarries.

On September 15, vigilance officials searched 34 places in Tamil Nadu, after filing two cases against two Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and a group of state officials for irregularities in quarrying.

The directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) conducted the raid following a detailed inquiry to probe large scale irregularities in granite quarrying in Madurai district over the past several years.

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