DMK man gets reprieve from Goondas Act

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Wednesday quashed the detention of Minnal Kodi, a loan shark and a DMK functionary, under the Goondas Act.Citing a 12-day delay in considering the representation of Minnal Kodi, a bench comprising Justice K N Basha and Justice M Venugopal quashed the order imposed by Madurai Rural Police on the DMK man.“On the grounds of delay in considering the representation made by the detainee, the impugned order is quashed”, the bench noted.Minnal Kodi was arrested on August 20, 2011, under the charges of usurping the properties of those who borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates. Later, on September 10, the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police detained Minnal Kodi under the Goondas Act. Two cases of land grabbing are pending against Minnal Kodi.In August, he was arrested for fabricating documents to gain power of attorney over 1.84 acres of land belonging to Murugan of Usilampatti. He was booked in another case on September 3. He allegedly usurped a house and three acres of land from one Rengarajan, who borrowed the loan from him. He was detained under the Goondas Act on September 10.