India
In a late night development, the Income Tax officials carried out raids at the Poes Garden, the residence of Tamil Nadu's former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Updated : Nov 18, 2017, 12:17 AM IST
In a late night development, the Income Tax officials carried out raids at the Poes Garden, residence of Tamil Nadu's former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
According to latest media reports, the I-T officials were conducting 'search and recovery' operations at Amma's residence to secure some crucial evidence.
There are reports that the room of Poongundran, Jayalalithaa's secretary, was specifically being searched.
The news agency ANI reported that the properties of Amma's jailed confidant VK Sasikala was also being searched.
Income Tax Dept raids #Sasikala and her relatives' properties in Chennai's Poes Garden.Heavy Security in the area. pic.twitter.com/hi5Wl4N8Eo
— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2017
There's heavy police deployment in and outside the Poes Garden. The operations come days after the I-T department carried out raids at Jaya TV and other close aide of Sasikala.
Reportedly there were protests outside the Poes Garden residence by TTV Dhinakaran supporters. “This is just political vendetta and targeting of one family,” VP Kalairajan, Dinakaran supporter and former MLA said.
IT raids: Protesting Sasikala supporters detained by Police in Poes Garden #Chennai pic.twitter.com/T4BwlpBd4h
— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2017
The Friday's raids were seen as followup of the November 9 raids that were conducted in nearly 200 locations. Sasikala, her brother VK Dhinakaran and other relatives are accused of amassing unaccounted incomes of Rs 1,430 crore.
Earlier on Friday, the Madras High Court upheld a trial court order sentencing M Natarajan, Sasikala's husband and three others to two years imprisonment in a 23-year-old duty evasion case connected to import of a luxury car from the UK.
Natarajan and three others were convicted for conspiracy, forgery, cheating and tax evasion and sentenced to two years in jail in the case by a CBI court in 2010. All the four challenged the order.