The Madras High Court has ordered the police to investigate allegations of land grabbing by police manning the landgrab cell in Tiruvallur district.

Justice A. Arumugaswamy directed the Tiruvallur town police station inspector to register a case on a complaint alleging land grabbing by cops at the landgrab cell in the district and forward it to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to facilitate investigation. The DVAC should file an interim report within three months, he said.

N. Moorthy of Manavala Nagar had in his complaint dated November 14 alleged that he and his wife were taken in a police vehicle at 3 am on November 11 to the office of the superintendent of police, where the land-grab cell was situated.

The DSP, who came the next morning accompanied by other police personnel, threatened them with dire consequences and coerced them to sign papers canceling the sale deed for 1.57 acres in Perambakkam village that was in their favour.

The two were detained while police personnel purchased stamp papers. Moorthy and his wife were escorted to the Perambakkam registrar’s office where the sale deed cancellation was allegedly executed.

Moorthy named DSP Vaithyalingam, three sub-inspectors and four constables attached to the land-grab cell as parties to the case and sought a direction to the DVAC to investigate his complaint.

Going through the records and CDs produced by the petitioner, the judge held that Moorthy had made out a prima facie case.