COIMBATORE: The Income-Tax department's three-day raid at the residence of DMK's Coimbatore (west district) in-charge R Krishnan alias Paiya Goundar at Kalappatti in Coimbatore ended Friday afternoon after he was admitted in a private hospital with sudden chest pain.
As part of the surprise raids to sniff out alleged tax evasion, the I-T department began searches on 22 premises of a group of educational institutions and its associates on Wednesday across Tamil Nadu, including in Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Namakkal and Chennai.
The action had led to the detection of alleged tax evasion of about Rs 150 crore apart from seizure of Rs 5 crore in cash, according to a statement issued on Thursday.
An eight-member I-T team started a search at Krishnan’s residence on Wednesday morning.
Officials said that it was speculated that an Erode-based private educational institution had manipulated its I-T returns and the details of fees collected and invested the amount in various businesses. Krishnan, a realtor and an agriculturist, is suspected to have nexus with the institution. Based on this, the team conducted searches at his house for the last three days.
On Friday, the third day of the searches, Krishnan is said to have been interrogated on his alleged connection with the institution and his investments. During the course of the interrogation, he experienced sudden chest pain. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital for treatment in the same locality.
"The doctors admitted him as an inpatient and advised that he undergo treatment for two days. He will continue his political work after returning from the treatment," said a senior DMK functionary.
As information that he was hospitalised spread, hundreds of DMK functionaries and cadres gathered in front of the hospital. Krishnan emerged from the hospital briefly, met them and assured them that he would return after completing the treatment.
Following his hospitalisation, I-T officials completed their search in the evening, said sources. However, they refused to comment on their findings and said details would be shared from their headquarters.