An official of VV Minerals claimed the police had seized only some of the award certificates won by the company and described the raid as an abuse of power.
MADURAI: Police have carried out a raid at the factory and office premises of VV Minerals, owned by Jaya TV shareholder R Vaikundarajan, facing charges of illegal mining of atomic particles like monosite and thorium, in Tirunelveli district, about 200 km from Madurai.
Police on Monday said they had seized several documents and computer hard disc during the raid at Keeraikaranthattu on Sunday, but declined to give more details, adding the materials needed to be analysed.
An official of the VV Minerals claimed the police had seized only some of the award certificates won by the company and described the raid as an abuse of power.
The police team faced some resistance from employees of the company when they came out of the office after the raid.
A police vehicle was pelted with stones and slogans were raised against police for filing "false case against Vaikundarajan". They also heckled police for "trying to trace proof after filing the case".
A case was registered in June last under the Atomic Energy Act against Vaikundarajan and his company after Kanyakumari District revenue officials found that sand transported by the company contained thorium and monosite.
On August 9 last, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, directing Vaikundarajan to surrender in the case while dismissing his plea to quash the FIR, had posed a series of questions about the nature of exports done by VV Minerals and whether they were actually usable in atomic energy production.
The court also asked whether police had any proof that the company exported sand to an atomic firm and whether the sand actually contained thorium.
It had said police could take Vaikundarajan into custody for further investigations.
However, Vaikundarajan has so far not surrendered before any court and the police had spread a dragnet for him.
VV Minerals had contended they exported only sand for extraction of garnet and they were innocent alleging police were harassing them because Vaikundarajan was Jaya TV partner.
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