Police book three Tamil Nadu ministers for ‘obstructing’ I-T raid

Acting on a complaint by the I-T department, police today filed an FIR against three Tamil Nadu ministers and one other person on charges of threatening and obstructing I-T officers from performing duties during a raid.

I-T department alleged in its complaint that the four legislators had attempted to obstruct a raid at the residence of state health minister C Vijayabaskar. Police named ministers K Raju, U Radhakrishnan, R Kamaraj and special representative N T Sundaram in the FIR and booked them for offences including “obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions” and “threat of injury to a public servant”.

All four lawmakers had barged into Vijayabaskar’s residence while the I-T raid was underway. Officers who were performing their duties were heckled and threatened by the ministers and Sundaram, I-T department alleged.

The case was registered two days after the I-T department had written to Chennai Commissioner of Police Karan Singha on the matter.

I-T department had summoned Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijayabaskar to appear in person for enquiries on April 17. I-T officials raided several premises belonging to the minister and his relatives, after an associate revealed routing of Rs 89 crore for “distribution among voters” in the RK Nagar Assembly constituency, followig which by-election there was suspended.

Defending his innocence, Vijayabaskar had earlier claimed that the raids were politically motivated.

“I was fully cooperating with the I-T officials. I showed all my documents and they were unable to find anything. They were threatening me. My children wanted to go to the school, but they were not allowed. This is politically motivated. The I-T department is harassing me,” he said.