Former AIADMK Minister Indira Kumari, Her Husband Sentenced Imprisonment For Five Years

Indira Kumari was the Social Welfare Minister in the late CM J Jayalalithaa’s cabinet during 1991-96. She later joined the DMK in 2006. 

Former AIADMK Minister Indira Kumari (Image: ABP Nadu)

Chennai: A special court in Chennai sentenced former AIADMK Minister R Indira Kumari and her husband for five years for misappropriating government funds worth Rs 15 lakhs. The court sentenced them to five years of imprisonment each and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each. 

Indira Kumari was the Social Welfare Minister in the late CM J Jayalalithaa’s cabinet during 1991-96. She later joined the DMK in 2006. 

According to a report in PTI, the imprisonment was awarded by N Alicia, the presiding officer for the special court hearing cases against MPs and MLAs after finding them guilty of offences under sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Quoting a statement from CB-CID who probed the case, the report said that the duo were convicted for 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) of IPC in addition to various sections of  PCA.

The report further said that the court had sentenced retired IAS officer P Shanmugam to three years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him failing to pay the penalty, he would have to undergo imprisonment for six more months. The retired IAS officer had served as the director of rehabilitation of the differently-abled. 

However, the court had acquitted Indira Kumar’s former personal assistant R Venkatakrishnan and charges against another IAS officer R Kirubakaran who was the then secretary of the social welfare department, were abated as he died during the trial, the report added.

According to the report, the accused had misappropriated government funds to a sum of Rs 15.45 lakh that was allotted to trusts.  The case was registered in 1997 and the charge sheet was filed in 2004.