IT dept freezes bank accounts, lockers of Vijaykant

CHENNAI: Three bank accounts and five lockers of actor-turned-politician Vijaykant and his relatives, whose houses and other establishments were raided by the Income Tax department on Tuesday, have been freezed, pending enquiry.

The department said on Wednesday night that jewellery worth Rs 54.22 lakh have been seized from Vijaykant and his wife, while jewellery worth Rs 12.5 lakh were seized from his sister at Madurai.

The IT department said Vijaykant and his wife, who possessed assets worth Rs 4.5 crore, did not file the wealth tax returns for the past five years.

The actor's relative, who had established a medical college at Puducherry at a cost of Rs 45 crore, could not account for Rs nine crore, it said.

Vijaykant had claimed that he had advanced Rs 1.72 crore to several individuals, but he could not explain on it, officials said.

The raids also revealed that Jepiyar, founder of the Satyabama University, whose educational institutions were searched by the IT department on Tuesday, had drawn cash to the tune of Rs 11 crore from various banks, which was not accounted, department sources said.

The accounts stood in the name of Satyabama educational trust and by drawing this money, the trust, which enjoyed income tax exemption, had lost the benefit.

Department officials also came to know about Rs eight crore of unaccounted money from another educationist, Kanakaraj, whose house was also raided on Tuesday.