DVAC raids former TN health minister including 14 colleges in the name of ‘Mother Theresa’

Some 250 DVAC sleuths are deployed at many locations to carry out the raid.

After the DMK came to power, this is the fourth minister being raided by DVAC after senior former ministers M R Vijayabaskar, S P Velumani and K C Veeramani — all of them known as the closest associates of former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The FIR registered in connection with the case said Vijayabaskar was involved “in corrupt activities and intentionally enriched himself by acquiring assets in his name, in the name of his dependent wife Ramya and daughters and in the name of the business firms, in which he and his wife arc proprietors or shareholders.” The FIR said all these assets were disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The FIR said Vijayabaskar was in possession of pecuniary resources and properties in the form of deposits in banks, jewels, motor vehicles, agriculture lands, house sites, insurance policies, investment in partnership firms and buildings to the tune of Rs.6.41 crore in his name as well as in the name of Ramya as on April 2016.

The case said Vijayabaskar purchased movable assets including seven tipper lorries, 10 transit mixers and a JCB worth to the tune of Rs.6.58 crore, a BMW Car worth Rs 53 lakh, 85.12 sovereign jewels worth Rs 40 lakh, agriculture lands in Silavattam and Morappakkam in Kanchipuram district worth Rs.3.99 crore, a house at Chennai worth of Rs. 14.57 crore. It adds, between April 2016 and March 2021, he also had invested in many companies in the form of shares to the tune of Rs.28.69 crore besides his possession of other properties, insurance policies and bank deposits.

Listing out a number of assets he acquired and the difference between the assets accumulated and spent during the period, FIR said the former minister had also acquired properties in the name of business firms Rasi Blue Metals, Green land Hi-tech Promoters, Om Sri Vari Stones (P) Ltd, Rasi Enterprises, Anya Enterprises, V Infrastructure and Sai Hridham Infraa Private Ltd, in which he and his family members were proprietors or shareholders.

The case adds that Vijayabhaskar had also created a trust in the name of ‘Mother Terasa Educational and Charitable Trust’ in his native, llluppur in Pudukottai and the DVAC is probing the alleged black money channelled through this trust. The FIR listed out the name of 14 educational institutions under the banner of this trust including a matriculation school, engineering, nursing, polytechnic, catering, physical education, arts and science colleges, an agriculture college, paramedical science, naturopathy and yoga sciences, allied health sciences colleges and even a college for pharmacy courses and physiotherapy.