Sleuths from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Friday morning swooped down on 52 premises belonging to or related to former AIADMK minister R Kamaraj after a registering a case for amassing wealth to the tune of Rs 58 crore.
Kamaraj, who was Food Minister in the AIADMK cabinets led by J Jayalalithaa, and Edappadi K Palaniswami, is the seventh leader from the party to be booked by the DVAC for possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income after the DMK government led by Chief Minister M K Stalin assumed office in May 2021.
The raids that began at 52 locations in Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, and Mannargudi on Friday morning ended in the evening. The development comes two days after people close to Palaniswami, who is set to take complete control of the AIADMK, came under the radar of the Income Tax department.
Besides Kamaraj, his sons M K Eniyan, K Inban, and three others – R Chadrakasan, B Krishnamoorthy, and S Udhayakumar have also been named in the FIR registered by the DVAC. Officials said Kamaraj and his sons and associate firms run by the remaining three had amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 58 crore during the check period between April 1, 2015, and March 31, 2021.
At the end of the searches, the DVAC said it seized Rs 15.5 lakh in cash, 963 sovereigns of gold, electronic gadgets, and incriminating documents, a statement from the agency said.
“…It is revealed that the six have committed the offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal misconduct, and abetment. The offences committed by Kamaraj is punishable under sections 120 (B) of IPC and 13(2) r/w 13(1)(e) r/w 12(1)(b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as amended in 2018 for the period between July 26, 2018, and March 31, 2021,” the FIR read.
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned the raids against Kamaraj and termed it as “vendetta politics” by the DMK government.