Chennai: Former Union Minister A Raja on Tuesday appeared before a special court in Chennai for allegedly amassing disproportionate wealth when he was a minister. The court gave copies of the charge sheet and the first information report to him. On August 18, 2015, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a disproportionate assets case against the former minister and 16 others. The agency accused them of accumulating disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 27.92 crore. Based on preliminary investigations, the agency said the wealth was disproportionate to his known income sources during the check period of October 1999 to September 2010.
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Completing the investigation in the seven-year-old case, the CBI filed a charge sheet against Raja and five others in a special court in Chennai recently. The final investigation report alleged that Raja had amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 5.53 crore, disproportionate to his known sources of income. The court had issued summons to the accused, including Raja, for personal appearance.
Accordingly, Raja and four others appeared before D Sivakumar, Judge of the Special Court for cases relating to MPs and MLAs in Singaravelan Maligai. The judge ordered the supply of copies of the charge sheet and other documents relating to the case to Raja and the others. The case was adjourned to February 8 for further hearings.
