Stalin aide and Tamil Nadu Minister E V Velu’s premises searched by I-T

A senior I-T official said there were 13 locations searched in Chennai besides many in Coimbatore, Tiruvannamalai and Karur. The searches were in progress until late Friday evening.

As news of the searches spread, a significant number of DMK cadres and supporters of Velu, 72, gathered outside his residence, voicing their displeasure and chanting slogans against the Union government.

Simultaneously, in Karur district, raids were undertaken at premises linked to Velu and his associates. This included the residence of the minister’s personal assistant, Suresh, and Padma, sister of the late DMK MLA Vasuki Murugesan. CRPF personnel were stationed at these locations to maintain law and order during the operations.

The searches were also extended to the Arunai Engineering College in Thiruvannamalai, founded by Velu in 1993. These are the latest in a series of crackdowns by the I-T Department in Tamil Nadu, with recent raids conducted on various contractors and suppliers of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), including locations in Chennai such as India Private Limited and Radha Engineering Works Private Limited.

Furthermore, the Enforcement Directorate previously targeted close aides of Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji in September as part of an alleged cash-for-jobs scam, resulting in the minister’s arrest on June 14. October also saw raids on properties associated with DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan.

Velu was previously searched in March 2021, before the state elections, over alleged complaints of significant cash movement during the campaigns.

For many years, Velu has been regarded as one of the closest aides to Chief Minister M K Stalin. While party insiders consider him akin to a family member within the DMK’s first family, he was also among the DMK ministers who faced numerous allegations during the 2006-2011 DMK regime.