Ker CM's former gunman, 9 others held in land grabbing cases

Salim Raj, controversial former gunman of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and nine others were today arrested by CBI in two land grabbing cases involving properties worth more than Rs 425 crore.
Salim Raj, a Kerala police personnel under suspension, was summoned to the CBI office here this morning and arrested, CBI said.
The nine others - revenue department officials and relatives of Raj - were arrested here and in Kochi, a CBI release here said.
The properties allegedly grabbed were located in Kadakampally in the state capital and Kalamassery in Kochi.
The CBI case was that the accused, including revenue officials, had conspired and manipulated government records and prepared false reports which resulted in cancellation of certain documents of land in Kalamassery worth approximately Rs 25 crores owned by A K Nazar, a complainant and others, thus alienating the genuine ownership over the land.

In the Kadakampally case, the accused allegedly conspired with government officials and forged docuements of 46.5 acres of land worth approximately Rs 400 crores, CBI said.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, the accused persons allegedly executed false sale deeds, carried out illegal mutation and accepted money for their benefits, it said.
The Kerala High Court in March last year had ordered a CBI investigation into the alleged land grabbing cases.
Salim Raj who reportedly wielded lot of clout in the Chief Minister's Office was removed from the CMO in 2013 after records of his telephone conversation with solar scam prime accused Sarita Nair came to light.