CSK from Hyderabad is a big name in the real estate mafia

HYDERABAD: CSK is popular across India as the franchisee of the Indian Premier League in Chennai — Chennai Super Kings. But in the old city, CSK stands for Chimanlal Suresh Kumar — a textile merchant in his late 50s, who is reportedly part of a real estate mafia.

He is allegedly responsible for encroaching on land near the Nizam-era Rukn-Ud-Dowla Lake in Shastripuram, where the HYDRAA recently dismantled 13 multi-storied buildings and 11 boundary walls.

According to sources, Suresh Kumar had bought the land around the lake from Mohammed Khader and started a real estate venture on over 27 acres in partnership with the King’s Group.

Before embarking on the venture, he had his men pump the lake full in eight years, Anwar Kamal said. Suresh Kumar is said to have earned over `400 crore by cheating hundreds of buyers.

“We were told that the land does not fall under the lake and cannot be registered. So we paid money to Suresh Kumar’s men. After HYDRAA demolished the structures, we lost our hope of life,” said Safia Begum, who bought a 300 square metre plot.

According to reliable sources, Suresh Kumar was preparing the documents to get the land in the name of his eldest son.

The sources said that Suresh Kumar used his political connections to mortgage the encroached land and later sell it to clients. After HYDRAA dismantled the illegal structures, Suresh Kumar went underground, sources said.

Speaking with Deccan Chronicle, Dr Lubna Sarwath, an activist-politician, said the lake’s land was being encroached upon since 2014. “In 2022, I was shocked to see that the lake had been filled with debris and roads and drains had been constructed on the land where the lake was,” she said, adding that she had filed a complaint with HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath.

An associate said Suresh Kumar used to throw high-profile parties at his farmhouse in Kothur. He targeted a business community because he thought they would not go to the police. He also allegedly cheated textile traders from Surat.

However, one Narikuda Sajjan complained to the police after Suresh Kumar cheated him in a construction contract despite taking money. Based on that, the Cyberabad police arrested Suresh Kumar on March 13, 2020 from Shadnagar.

About 10 years ago, Suresh Kumar was confronted with a cheating case filed with the Moinabad police. Subsequently, he is named in seven cases involving cheating, forgery and threats.