REFUGEE

Good response to free insurance scheme for poor
The Kalaignar Health Insurance Scheme launched by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in July this year has received an overwhelming response from people in the state.
The scheme provides free medical treatment for families with an annual income of less than Rs72,000. The insurance premiums for each family will be paid by the government in a tie-up with private insurer Star Insurance.
Those opting for the scheme have been given laminated smart cards. Opposition parties have denounced it as a populist scheme aimed at influencing voters.

Family alleges man died in racial attack

Saravana Kumar, a native of Mohanur in Namakkal district, died in an alleged racist attack in London on October 19.
Kumar had gone to London to study business management and had been working at a fuel station for the past two years. His relatives claimed he died after some unidentified people clubbed him at work. The family has urged the Tamil Nadu government to bring back Kumar’s body.
The government has promised to bring back the body after authorities complete their investigations.

Court blames policemen for clash in Feb

The Madras High court has blamed four police officers for the February 19 clash between police and lawyers in the court’s premises.
The indicted officers include the then Chennai City Commissioner K Radhakrishnan.
The court said it was the “most imprudent act of creating a situation of lawlessness which ultimately resulted in very ghastly incidents to take place and thereby created a blot on the institution, namely the judiciary.” .

Petition against actor Vijay’s land

The Madras High Court has admitted a petition from a man seeking the return of five acres of land from Tamil actor Vijay.
Petitioner Karthikeyan said in his petition that the land was taken over from his father in 1969 to build residential colonies by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.
However it remained unused until 2003 and Karthikeyan decided to get back the land through courts. He was shocked to find that the land now belonged to Vijay.

Six arrested for robberies

Six members of a gang allegedly involved in several robberies over the past six years were arrested last week.
The gang was accused of stealing jewellery from homes, chain snatching and withdrawing money from ATMs using stolen cards.
Police first arrested Srikanth, an electronics ‘expert’, by identifying him through surveillance cameras of an ATM. He led the police to his associates.

Gold, antique coins seized

Gold worth Rs38mn and nearly 1,000 antique coins were seized from several passengers from Sri Lanka and Singapore at the Chennai airport last week.
The passengers had concealed the contraband in their rectums. Customs officials suspect the haul may have been stolen from victims of the ethnic struggle in Sri Lanka.