Birlas wheel out big gun

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">KOLKATA: S Gurumurthy, once a feared corporate warrior and now a much sought-after advisor and mediator, has thrown his entire weight behind the Birla family in its fight against R S Lodha over Priyamvada Birla''s will.<br /><br />Confirming the move, family partiarch B K Birla told <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">TOI</span>: "He is our family friend and we have sought his advice on the matter.He is examining the case and working together with Kumar Mangalam (Birla)."<br /><br />The confirmation comes two days after Gurumurthy denied speculation that he had been asked to mediate in the Birla-Lodha war over the MP Birla group''s assets.<br /><br />The chartered accountant''s last big involvement in a boardroom battle also involved the Birlas — when he mediated in Larsen & Toubro between Kumar Birla and chairman A M Naik: Birla went on to wrest control of the conglomerate.<br /><br />Sources close to the Birla family said, "Gurumurthy is drawing up strategies to combat the case. Besides, battery of lawyers is working and currently all evidence is being gathered to build up a strong case against Lodha."<br /><br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">TOI</span> has already reported that the Birla family has hired top legal brains in Mumbai and New Delhi and even sought advice from British law firms.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Lawyers cast doubt on will</span><br /><br />The Birlas on Thursday went on the offensive, taking Lodha head-on and challenging the authenticity of the will he had read out to the Birla family. At the same time, they left the door ajar for an out-of-court settlement if Lodha were to approach them. "What was read out by R S Lodha on July 12 before the family can''t be Priyamvada Birla''s will," said N G Khaitan, the Birla Group solicitor handling the matter.</div> </div>