CHENNAI: Sleuths from the Enforcement Directorate conducted inquiries with don Sridhar Dhanapalan’s wife and his first daughter who flew from Dubai on Wednesday morning.
Sources said Sridhar, one of the most wanted men by the state police and often referred as a top real estate “don”, wife Kumari (40) and their first daughter S Dhanalakshmi landed at Chennai from Dubai at around 7 am. Within hours, the sleuths from ED were informed and rushed to the airport to nab the duo.
The mother and daughter were immediately taken to the zonal office of the ED on Greams Road, Thousand Lights at around 9 am and were allowed to leave the office only by 1.30 pm after they were questioned about the money-laundering. The officials have summoned the duo to appear again on Thursday.
Sources also say that Kumari’s passport has been impounded by passport authority at the city airport on Wednesday. This step was taken after Kumari claimed she did not have any criminal cases pending against her during her passport renewal.
However, she was accused in a crime case registered against her in Vishnu Kanchi police station, following which her passport was impounded. Sources also said that Dhanlakshmi also surrendered her original passport on Wednesday.
Another official source said Kumari was involved in a criminal case in 2012 and a case under section 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506(2) and section 3 under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 have been registered against her. The case has been pending in Madras High Court. On Wednesday, she visited the country to take part in the court proceedings in Kancheepuram in connection with a criminal intimidation case against Kumari being pursued by Vishnu Kanchi Police station.
Sridhar Dhanapalan has been underground since 2013 and widely believed to be in Dubai. With dozens of criminal cases against him and huge tracts of land acquired by him allegedly through illegal means, he has been absconding since 2013. Various means by the police to trace him were unsuccessful.
It may be noted that on March 23 this year, Dhanlakshmi had left India after she was stopped twice by law enforcement agencies.