CM's ex-gunman is accused in land grab case

A former gunman of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is among 27 persons listed as accused by CBI in an FIR submitted in a land grab case in a special court here.
Former gunman Salim Raj, a sub-inspector in Kerala Police now under suspension, and his wife Shamshad were among 27 accused in the FIR submitted by the investigating agency in the court on Friday.
CBI took up the investigation in the case after the intervention of the Kerala High Court last month.
The case pertains to acquisition of large swathes of land by real estate interests in Kadakampally village here. The land was held by as many as 200 poor households for generations.

Salim Raj, who figured as the 21st accused, had allegedly misused his high connections to get through the registration formalities of the land in brazen violation of rules and proecdures.
In scathing remarks against the UDF Government, Kerala High Court had observed that persons implicated in criminal cases, managing to get accommodated in Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's office, showed the government's "incompetence".