Chennai: In one of the biggest hauls in the country, the income tax department has recovered over Rs 170 crore in cash and 100kg gold bullion after a two-day raid across 30 premises of a road-construction firm in Tamil Nadu.
The searches were conducted on the properties of Nagarajan Seyyadurai, a high-profile road contractor and director of three companies. The father-in-law of Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy’s son is also a director in two of these firms — Sri Balaji Tollways (Madurai) Private Limited and SPKANDCO Expressway Private Limited.
The DMK had filed a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in June 2018 that multi-crore government highway contracts were given to Palaniswamy’s relatives.
Demanding the chief minister’s resignation over the raids, the party has sought an appointment with governor Banwarilal Purohit at 11am on Monday. The DMK is also planning to take the legal route and move the Madras high court over the irregularities in tenders for highways projects and the I-T raids.
However, addressing reporters in Salem district, Palaniswamy said there were no irregularities in awarding tenders to contractors. “It is the duty of the income tax department to conduct raids on premises of companies if they don’t pay tax proportionate to their income. There are no irregularities in awarding tenders. The Opposition’s demand for my resignation is politically motivated. Earlier, they demanded my resignation over the Cauvery issue and then the Sterlite protest. It is their routine to do that.”
While the chief minister rubbished all allegations, a top AIADMK leader said the party was nervous because of the sudden raids that lasted for over 36 hours.
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