Income Tax Search conducted against Tamil Nadu minister EV Velu

The Income Tax department official has carried out searches at various locations in Tamil Nadu related to Minister of Public Works Department EV Velu on Friday. He is the third cabinet member in the DMK government and the fourth party leader.

A police officer said that raids were conducted at over 40 places, including his hometown in Tiruvannamalai and residences, offices and educational institutions owned by him in Chennai, Coimbatore and Karur across the state.

EV Velu is supposed close to the chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin and was food minister in the previous DMK cabinet from the period 2006-11.

Udhayanidhi Stalin (DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister) alleged that agencies like the IT department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have become “political arms” of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In the last few months, federal agencies raided the DMK leader and Velu became the fourth leader who came under this.

The ED has registered a case against his cabinet colleague V Senthil Balaji, who is currently lodged in Puzhal Central Jail, in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which also raided and interrogated Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi.

Last month, the IT department carried out raids against Arakkonam MP S Jagathrakshagan.