The police have been directed by the Madras High Court to inquire into a complaint which alleged that state food minister R Kamaraj, along with his cousin, duped a person of Rs. 45 lakhs on the premise of settling a property dispute. The realtor, S.V.S. Kumar from Tiruvarur district had filed a petition in the court which stated that he had purchased a piece of property at Sringeri Mutt Road, Mylapore. The house owner who had sought time to vacate the premises, ultimately never did, even after several months. Kumar had approached a lawyer, Ramakrishnan who introduced himself as the cousin of the minister. The advocate allegedly said he would use his political clout to evict the ex-house owner and then proceeded to demand Rs. 10 lakh as a payment for his ‘services’. In addition to the Rs. 10 lakhs he had already demanded, Ramakrishnan allegedly demanded an additional 5 lakh rupees a few weeks later. Kumar eventually paid up the amount. However, despite the 15 lakh rupees Ramakrishnan was paid, he failed to evict the person. Kumar then approached minister Kamaraj at his Mannargudi residence, who assured him that the person would be evicted soon. According to the petition filed in the court, Kamaraj then demanded Rs. 30 lakhs as election expenses from Kumar. He was standing as a MLA candidate from Nannilam constituency. Kumar reluctantly paid up. However, after he was elected, both Kamaraj and Ramakrishnan refused to meet Kumar. On March 10 he finally filed a complaint at the Mannargude police station, according to a The Times of India report. On Monday, the additional public prosecutor had stated that the deputy superintendent of police in Mannargudi had sent several letters to Kumar asking him to come in person. Kumar’s counsel said that there were threats to his life as the complaint was against higher officials. He also mentioned that Kumar could appear in front of the police only if he was provided with adequate security. Accordingly, Justice P.N. Prakash directed the DSP to provide Kumar with adequate security in order to enable him to appear before the police on April 30.