Chennai: Income Tax officials, on Monday, seized unspecified amount of cash from a cement godown allegedly belonging to a DMK leader in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district near here. Officials suspect the cash was meant to be distributed to the voters in Vellore for the April 18 Lok Sabha election.
Monday's searches, which are a sequel to the department's raids on the premises of DMK treasurer Duraimurugan, led to the discovery of cash stashed in cartons and gunny bags neatly packed to be distributed ward and division-wise. Tax sleuths who had raided the premises of Duraimurugan at Gandhi Nagar in Katpadi and their educational institutions at Christianpet in Chittoor Road, had seized Rs 10.50 lakh from his house.
The cash, packed in small bundles, marked with numbers of wards and divisions, was kept concealed at a cement godown located in the premises of the residence of DMK's Katpadi town panchayat secretary Seenivasan, at Karigiri Salai, in Pallikuppam in Vellore district.
According to a statement from the I-T department, "the cash shifted from Kingston College (Durai Murugan Educational Trust), Vellore, to a cement godown in the night between March 29 and 30 due to botched up operation by the State Police and revenue authorities was found by I-T (inv) team."
It is said during searches at Duraimurugan's residence, printouts of details of some wards were seized, and this led to today's operation.
According to sources the search in Vellore has led to the seizure of atleast Rs. 10 crore. Pictures of the seized cash show bundles of new currency notes of various denominations stuffed inside gunny sacks, big shopping bags and cardboard boxes.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata Sahoo told reporters, even as the raid was going on in neighbouring Vellore, "we ought to see if this money belongs to any political party or candidate. We have no details of the seizure from the Income-tax department, now."
According to the I-T department, "all the cash is stuffed in cartons and gunny bags neatly packed for distribution division and ward-wise." Ten teams of the tax officials were said to have been engaged in the operation that commenced around 9 am in the morning. The house of Seenivasan's sister Vimala, in the same area, was also subjected to search, said sources. Photos and videos of the cash bundles went viral on social media.
The DMK has fielded Duraimurugan's son Kathir Anand, to the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency. Meanwhile, Kathir Anand's lawyer pleaded in Madras High Court on Monday that the Income Tax department's raids are preventing Kathir Anand from campaigning in his constituency for the April 18 polls. The advocate claimed Kathir Anand has been detained illegally by Income-Tax officials and that it was against democratic principles. He requested the court to intervene in the matter. The judges said that the court would hear the case on Tuesday if the parties file a petition regarding the issue.
AIADMK's ally Puthiya Needhi Katchi founder A.C. Shanmugam, who is the chancellor of Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute and T. T. V. Dhinakaran's AMMK candidate Pandurangan besides R. Suresh of Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam, are in the fray.
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