The Income Tax Department officials conducted raids at VK Sasikala’s properties in Chennai’s Poes Garden on Friday, reported ANI. The I-T sleuths also carried out searches at the houses of the jailed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader’s relatives.
Heavy security was deployed in the area. The raids are believed to be a continuation of the searches carried out since November 9 at the offices of Tamil newspaper Dr Namadhu MGR, Jaya TV, and the residence of the channel’s Managing Director Vivek Jayaraman and his sister Krishna Priya, who are Sasikala’s nephew and niece. Last week’s search operation went on for three days.
More details are awaited.
Sasikala’s nephew TTV Dinakaran said the searchers were an assault on former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa’s legacy. “The raids show the OPS [O Panneerselvam] and EPS [E Palaniswami] camps would commit any treachery to save their posts,” he said. He added that people behind these raids would have to “answer to one crore AIADMK cadres”.
Dinakaran’s supporter and a former MLA VP Kalairajan also dubbed the raids as political vendetta. “This is just targeting of one family,” he told ANI.
Income Tax Dept raids #Sasikala and her relatives' properties in Chennai's Poes Garden.Heavy Security in the area. pic.twitter.com/hi5Wl4N8Eo
— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2017
Chennai: Jaya TV CEO Vivek Jayaraman arrives in Poes Garden as IT raids continue pic.twitter.com/rCpb11UrMI
— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2017
Last week’s searches were connected to several high value deposits allegedly made and rerouted through different companies in the months after demonetisation, Income Tax officials in Chennai had earlier told Scroll.in. They are also connected to dubious investments, fund flow and fudging of accounts.
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