MADURAI: The state informed the Madras High Court on Friday that a Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Deputy Inspector General of Police, Madurai Range, Abhinav Kumar, has been formed to investigate the property tax scam in the Madurai Corporation.
In light of these updates, a division bench comprising Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice A D Maria Clete directed authorities to submit a progress report on the investigation and postponed the hearing for two weeks.
The court was addressing a public interest litigation submitted by T Ravi, an AIADMK councillor from Ward 83 of the Madurai Corporation. The petitioner claimed that a significant scam related to property tax assessments surfaced in 2024, involving several corporation officials in collusion with zonal chairpersons. He alleged that this misconduct led to a loss exceeding ₹200 crore in revenue for the corporation. Consequently, the petitioner requested a CBI investigation.
During a previous hearing, the court highlighted the need for an IPS officer to oversee an investigation of this scale, ensuring monitoring by higher authorities to prevent any oversight and to ensure that individuals at higher levels are also held accountable for the substantial loss to the corporation. The court directed the Inspector General of Police (South Zone) and the Madurai City Police Commissioner to establish a SIT led by a senior IPS officer with a solid reputation for integrity.
