Vellore: In a surprise development, income tax (I-T) officials raided several premises including the office of Commercial Taxes and Registration minister K. C. Veeramani, besides that of some friends and the houses and offices of two real estate businessmen in Vellore district on Thursday.
A team from I-T department in New Delhi scooped down on the houses and offices of two real estate businessmen, Ramamurthy and Jayaprakash, in Kadpadi near here since the early hours of Thursday, that has taken everyone by surprise. The raids have come barely two days after the BJP inked a poll pact with ruling AIADMK for the coming Lok Sabha polls.
Sources said the I-T raids related to an alleged Rs 300 crore land transaction of a prime piece of real estate near the Vellore new bus stand, in which the role of several persons including that of the state minister has been dragged in.
The I-T men, who came in 10 cars, also conducted a search at Mr Veeramani's office at Jolarpettai, a marriage hall belonging to the minister on Nattrampalli main road, the house of the manager of the marriage hall, Mr Satyamurthy, besides the house of the personal assistant to the minister, Mr Srinivasan at Jolarpettai.
Reports also spoke of the I-T men conducting searches in the houses of the minister's two businessmen-friends in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh who are said to be in the dairy business, all in connection with the '300 crore land deal.
While Ramamurthy and Jayaprakash had filed a petition against the minister in the Madras High Court recently, alleging his intervention on behalf of one of his alleged friends, Mr Sekhar Reddy in the land deal, Mr Veeramani had recently sworn in an affidavit in the high court that the minister had nothing to do with the Rs 300 crore land deal in Vellore and that he did no mediation using his office as Minister. That case has been adjourned to February 25 and meanwhile the I-T searches are going on at the premises of various persons suspected to be part of the deal, sources added.
