Election Commission, IT raid in Chennai yields Rs. 4.72 crore

Close on the heels of the seizure of cash, allegedly meant to be distributed to voters, from an influential businessman in Karur district, the Election Commission’s flying squad and Income-Tax officials on Sunday raided a posh apartment in Egmore here and seized over Rs. 4.72 crore (preliminary estimate). The raids, which began late afternoon, extended into the night and sources indicated that two occupants of the house were taken to another location in the city.

In a related development, opposition leaders, including DMK president M Karunanidhi and CPI State Secretary R. Mutharasan, citing media reports, demanded to know the nature of the alleged link between a State Minister and Anbunathan, the Karur businessman. A senior Election Commission official in Chennai said personnel manning the election control room at the Chennai Corporation received a tip-off around 3.30 p.m. about the presence of cash at the second floor apartment in A Block of the Commander’s Court on Ethiraj Salai in Egmore.

Following this, the election flying squad team landed at the apartment. “For 20 minutes, the house was not opened. Later, one of the occupants, identified as Vijay, opened the door. The team that entered the premises found cash packed in bundles in two boxes. The occupants threw out two courier covers out of the window, which was recovered by the flying squad,” the official said.

Since another room in the apartment was locked, the Income Tax Department was informed and a team lead by a Deputy Director arrived at the apartment.

“Vijay then informed the raiding team that Rs. 4.72 crore was stocked in the house,” the official added.

The raids were videographed in the presence of Returning Officer (Egmore) Sangeetha.

“Further investigations are on and the exact amount stocked and recovered would be known only after the seized cash is counted,” he added. A source indicated that this seizure could be linked to the Karur raids.

A police officer said the occupants of the house were the sons of a political party functionary based in Thanjavur.