Income Tax department sends cash seizure report to Election Commission

Chennai: The Income Tax department officials have sent a report on the searches and seizure of large sums of unaccounted cash in cartons and gunny bags from a cement warehouse belonging to a DMK leader in Vellore district, to the Election Commission authorities.

According to sources, the I-T department officials had furnished the report to the Election Commission in the specified format. The EC is expected to take a call on the report. About Rs 11.5 crore seized from the cement godown, was meant for distribution division and ward wise and the cash bundles contained the division and ward numbers written on them.

Monday’s searches, a sequel to the department’s raids on the premises of DMK treasurer Duraimurugan, led to the discovery of the cash. The tax sleuths who raided the premises of Duraimurugan at Gandhi Nagar in Katpadi and their educational institutions at Christianpet on Chittoor Road, had seized `10.50 lakh from his house.

The cash was 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, the I-T (inv) team had said. Duraimurgan’s son Kathir Anand is the party’s candidate for the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency. Duraimurugan had denied that the cash belonged to his family.

Earlier, asserting that it was “premature” to talk about countermanding elections, CEO Satyabrata Sahoo said, the EC would act based on the reports from the District Election Officer and I-T department involved in the searches.