By Shilpa Nair: The manager of a private estate in the reserve forest area in the Tamil Nadu Nilgiri Forest Division has been arrested for illegally widening a road. The Medanad Estate in Kil Kotagiri allegedly belongs to the son-in-law of a DMK minister.

The estate workers used heavy equipment, including earth movers and road rollers, to widen a path that passed through the reserve forest and into the estate for easier access.

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On receiving information from activists, the Nilgiri forest division officials visited the spot and later registered a case against three people, including the estate manager and the drivers of the heavy vehicles.

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The excavation equipment was also seized by the forest department.

According to forest officials, the work for widening the pathway was undertaken without obtaining due permission.