Rs 1,430 Crore Seized from IT Raids at Places Linked to Sasikala

IT officials say they have found Rs 1,430 crores as undeclared income after raids at places linked to Sasikala.

I-T department has raided at least 187 locations in Tamil Nadu that are allegedly owned by relatives of Sasikala.

(Photo: PTI)

Income Tax officials have found Rs 1,430 crore rupees as undeclared income after the 5-day search at the Jaya TV office and residences and offices of family members of jailed AIADMK party leader VK Sasikala, sources in the IT dept said.

IT sources said they have seized 7 crore in cash, over 5 crore worth of gold and a huge collection of diamond jewellery which is yet to be assessed.

Income Tax department sleuths had carried out multi-city raids on 187 premises across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Delhi, including those linked to Sasikala, her nephew and deposed AIADMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran and Tamil television channel Jaya TV over suspected tax evasion.

Several shell companies have also been identified and the documents are still being studied over suspected tax evasion.

15 bank lockers have been frozen and the team is probing benami connections.

A team is reportedly also verifying documents with respect to the Kodanadu Estate. Vivek Jayaraman, MD of Jaya TV has been summoned for questioning following the searches in the premises of the channel.

IT raids took place for 5 days. I am overseeing Jaya TV and Jazz cinemas for over 2 years. They enquired about these documents and also enquired about jewels my wife was given during our marriage. We are ready to cooperate with agencies. Questions were raised regarding accounts.

Vivek Jayaraman, MD of Jaya TV

TTV Dhinakaran, who has been sidelined by the AIADMK, has denied all the allegations and say they have been politically motivated.

What is the motive of showing that a mega raid has been carried out by 1,800 officials? The raids were conducted in 180 to 190 locations. It all sounds like Shankar’s or Rajamouli’s grand movie. We will see to what extent they [the searches] are a hit. 

TTV Dhinakaran

The Income Tax department has clearly stated that the raids were part of the operation ‘clean money drive’.

Jaya TV has been the mouthpiece of the ruling party AIADMK for decades. But since the merger of EPS-OPS and their fallout with the Sasikala faction, the channel has been critical of the government’s actions.

Currently a case is pending in the Madras High Court regarding the petition of 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs backed by TTV Dhinakaran against their disqualification. This hearing is expected to be followed by the DMK’s plea for a floor test to be conducted.

With the blame game on between the 2 factions, the theatre of absurd continues in Chennai.