Chennai: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption on Wednesday held searches at different locations in Tamil Nadu linked to AIADMK former minister P Thangamani in connection with a disproportionate assets case, police said.
The opposition party hit out at its rival, the ruling DMK, and alleged that the vigilance action was an attempt at preventing its supporters from actively working ahead of the urban local body polls and vowed to face any probe.
The allegation against Thangamani, his wife and son, who also have been named in the FIR, was that he acquired a little over Rs 4.85 crore assets disproportionate to known sources of income during the check period of May 2016 to March 2020.
The FIR was registered in Namakkal under sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Thangamani held the Electricity and Prohibition and Excise portfolios in the previous AIADMK regime of 2016-21. He represents the Kumarapalayam Assembly constituency in the present House.
Searches were being conducted by sleuths of the DVAC in a number of locations in different parts of the state including his native Namakkal, Salem, Chennai and Karur, police said.
In some places, AIADMK supporters gathered outside where the searches were on and raised slogans against the DMK and police.
Thangamani is the fifth former minister from the main opposition party in the state to come under the vigilance scanner over alleged disproportionate assets, with the others being MR Vijayabhaskar, SP Velumani, K C Veeramani and C Vijayabaskar.
Reacting to the vigilance action, senior party leader K V Ramalingam alleged the former ministers have been 'targeted' over the past few months and said the AIADMK would not be cowed down by such actions.
He alleged that instead of focussing on people's issues, the DMK "is trying to finish off AIADMK which will not happen."
"This is a people's movement founded by MGR ( the late Chief Minister M G Ramachandran)," he told reporters.
The searches were aimed at preventing the AIADMK workers from actively working actively ahead of the urban local body polls, he alleged.
"The AIADMK is prepared to face any probe," he added.
