Chennai/Cuddalore (TN), Nov. 11 (PTI): For the third day in a row, the Income-Tax department continued its searches at tge premises linked to jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala and her kin over suspected tax evasion but did not elaborate on the value of cash and types of documents seized.
The searches, including in this metropolis, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and a number of other locations in Tamil Nadu, that commenced on November 9 were going on at some places, a senior tax official told PTI. However, he declined to disclose how much cash and what type of documents were seized.
A Coimbatore report, quoting police, said the Income Tax officials, who were carrying out searches at the premises of a sand merchant M Arumugasamy, as part of the state-wide raids, completed their search today.
The sleuths, who searched a commercial complex belonging to Arumugasamy, have reportedly seized some “important” documents from there, police said.
The search was also completed at the premises of Sajeevan, who is supplying furniture across Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts.
He had also supplied wood and other materials to the Kodanadu bungalow in Kotagiri belonging to late chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
In Cuddalore, a 10-member team is conducting searches at two residences and a jewellery shop.
One of the residences belongs to an astrologer, who reportedly used to give advice to Sasikala, who is now in a Bengaluru jail following her conviction in a disproportionate assets case.
The raid on 187 locations was conducted by over 1,000 officials, who split into over a dozen teams on day one of the searches on November 9. Subsequently, the number of officials carrying out the task shrunk with the conclusion of the searches at some premises.
Backed with inputs, including those from the Finance Ministry’s Financial Intelligence Unit, the raids are being conducted.
The allegations included suspicion of shell companies, dubious investments, suspicious fund flow and its transfers and fudging of accounts. Jaya TV premises in Chennai and Dhinakaran’s farm house were searched as part of the “Operation Clean Money”, under which premises belonging to 10 Income-Tax assessee groups were raided. Dubbing the searches a “conspiracy”, deposed AIADMK deputy General Secretary T T V Dhinakaran has alleged it was to oust him and his jailed aunt from politics.
