TN govt targeting us, don't know why Durai is hiding: Karunanidhi

Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi on Monday said he had no idea why his grandson, Durai Dayanidhi, was hiding, adding that the government and the judiciary could proceed legally. Durai, the son of Karunanidhi's son and DMK MP Alagiri, is wanted in an illegal granite mining case.

"I don't know why Durai is hiding. The government and the judiciary could proceed legally…I am not worried," said the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Hitting out the AIADMK government, Karunanidhi further alleged that the state government was "indiscriminately filing cases against DMK cadre".

This came even as a Madurai court on Monday issued a non-bailable warrant against Durai Dayanidhi in the multi-crore illegal granite quarrying scam case. The NBW against him, for whom a special police team is on the lookout, was ordered by Judicial Magistrate V Jayakumar at Melur in Madurai district on a police plea.

Durai and nine others are facing charges that firms owned by them had mined sand and granite without permission. He had earlier opposed the police plea, saying he had filed an anticipatory bail plea in the Madras High Court "in view of the changed situation in the case". He had alleged he was being politically victimised as he was the son of a Cabinet Minister and grandson of Karunanidhi.

Police have charged Durai and Nagarajan, partners in Olympus Granites Pvt Ltd, with encroaching on the adjacent government land and taking away large quantity of granite illegally without quarrying in the permitted area and causing loss of Rs 44 crore to the government by illegal quarrying. Cases had been registered under various IPC sections including 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 447 (criminal trespass) and 420 (cheating) against them.

(With Additional Inputs from PTI)

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)