Hindu temple land encroached upon and fraudulently registered by Indian politician in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu
Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India 
18 September, 2026
Case Summary
In Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, a Hindu temple land was encroached upon and fraudulently transferred by DMK functionary M. Ramkumar. According to reports, the DMK functionary M. Ramkumar was booked by police in connection with the fraudulent registration and encroachment of land belonging to the Arulmigu Ranganatha Swamy Temple. The disputed property measured 7,515 square feet and was located in Velli Thirumutham village under old T.S. No. 762/1 and new T.S. No. 2620. The temple’s Executive Officer, Sivaramkumar, filed the complaint, stating that the land formed part of a larger 5-acre-87-cent parcel belonging to the temple and was supported by historical ownership records, including the 1898 Resurvey and Settlement Register, the 1930 Settlement Register and Title Deed No. 1027. According to the complaint, Padma Rengarajan and Vijaya Krishnasamy created documents to establish rights over the temple property and transferred the disputed land to Ramkumar for ₹1.45 crore. The transaction was registered at the Srirangam Sub-Registrar’s Office on 5 December 2022 as Document No. 3928/2022. The complaint further stated that R. Sowntharrajan and Vengatavaradhan separately registered documents concerning the same property for ₹72.5 lakh each in December 2022, followed by rectification deeds in January 2023. The temple maintained that these transactions were carried out despite the property being temple-owned land. The complaint further stated that Ramkumar was serving as the Srirangam DMK area secretary and had used his political position in connection with the transactions. It also stated that a DMK party office was operating on the disputed land after it had been registered in Ramkumar’s name. The property was reported to have a market value of around ₹50 crore. The Srirangam Sub-Registrar who was serving at the time of the registrations was also named in the FIR. The temple had previously issued legal notices to the Sub-Registrar informing the office that the property belonged to the temple and requesting that no documents relating to the land be registered. Despite this, the disputed documents were registered. Police subsequently registered a case against Ramkumar and the other named individuals under six sections, and an investigation was underway. Reports also indicated that police were considering Ramkumar’s arrest in connection with the case.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category for this case is: Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory for this case is: Encroachment or illicit takeover of temple land/land near temple. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Not only the Temple but the Temple premises in their entirety are considered sacred by Hindus. In several cases, the premises of the Temple and/or religious centre are illicitly taken over by institutions belonging to other faiths – like the Waqf board or the Church. Other times, the temple property, land or the property of religious centres are illicitly encroached upon by non-Hindu groups. Any illicit takeover or encroachment is a crime ab initio; however, when non-Hindu groups illicitly take over or encroach upon the sacred land of Hindus, it is an affront to the Hindu community and is therefore classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case was recorded as a religious hate crime because property dedicated to the ancient Hindu Arulmigu Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Srirangam was encroached upon and fraudulently transferred by the DMK functionary. The religious dimension was central because the property was not ordinary private land but formed part of land historically recorded as belonging to the Hindu temple and dedicated to its religious institution. For Hindus, temple property is inseparable from the religious institution to which it is dedicated. A Hindu temple is the sacred abode of the Deity, while its surrounding land and other properties provide the physical and financial foundation required for worship, rituals, festivals, maintenance and the continued functioning of the institution. Property dedicated to a Deity therefore carries a religious purpose that extends beyond its monetary or commercial value. Encroachment or alienation of such property deprives a Hindu religious institution of assets specifically dedicated to sustaining its religious functions and can reduce the resources available for the preservation and practice of Hindu religious traditions. The religious significance was further heightened because the temple property was subsequently used for a political activity. The use of land dedicated to a Hindu Deity for a political party office represented a departure from the religious purpose for which the property was maintained. Temple properties can also generate income through rents and other legitimate uses, which contribute towards the maintenance of the temple, worship of the Deity, performance of rituals, festivals and other religious activities. Their unlawful occupation or alienation can therefore result in both the loss of the physical asset and the financial resources that would otherwise support the temple’s religious functioning. The matter consequently extended beyond a conventional dispute over ownership or the monetary value of land. The property at the centre of the case was specifically dedicated to a Hindu religious institution, and its fraudulent alienation and encroachment directly affected the assets through which that institution preserved and conducted Hindu religious activities. The diversion of the property for a secular political purpose further reinforced the displacement of an asset from the religious purposes for which it had been dedicated. For this reason, the conduct was treated as affecting the institutional and material foundations of Hindu religious practice, and the incident was added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the temple encroachment began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media, 19 September 2026.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
