Ex-minister AIADMK SP Velumani raided, Rs 13 lakh, documents seized

During the searches, cash worth Rs 13.08 lakh, land registration documents, business transaction documents, fixed deposits to the tune of Rs 2 crore, corporation records,
AIADMK cadre move a barricade in Coimbatore | U Rakesh Kumar
AIADMK cadre move a barricade in Coimbatore | U Rakesh Kumar

CHENNAI/COIMBATORE: A month after its raids on former minister MR Vijayabaskar, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday raided 60 premises linked to former minister and AIADMK leader SP Velumani and his associates in Chennai, Coimbatore and other places. 

Velumani has been accused of abusing his official position and showing favouritism in awarding tenders in the Greater Chennai and Coimbatore Corporations to the tune of Rs 811 crore between 2014 and 2018.

During the searches, cash worth Rs 13.08 lakh, land registration documents, business transaction documents, fixed deposits to the tune of Rs 2 crore, corporation records, hard discs, and other incriminating documents were found and seized, the DVAC said.

The raids were conducted based on an FIR the DVAC registered against Velumani, his brother P Anbarasan, and 15 others, including a few companies associated with the former minister. The FIR was registered on Monday, based on a complaint from DMK MP RS Bharathi and Arappor Iyakkam convenor V Jayaraman.

This is politically motivated: EPS

DVAC sources said they searched 60 premises - 42 in Coimbatore, 16 in Chennai, and one each in Dindigul and Kancheepuram districts - including residences, offices and farmhouses of Velumani, his relatives, associates and officials of the Chennai and Coimbatore corporations.

In Chennai, a team of officials stormed the MLA hostel, where Velumani was staying, after a few men argued with the officials, preventing them from entering the premises. The police intervened and shifted the men away. At private apartments where raids was conducted, the residents stayed indoors as police personnel were deployed in huge numbers.

In Coimbatore, apart from Velumani’s residence at Sugunapuram, DVAC teams raided the premises of Anbarasan at Kovaipudur, and premises linked to relatives and business associates like K Chandraprakash and R Chandrasekar - shareholders of KCP Engineers private limited - who allegedly acquired a large numbers of tenders, and a few corporation officials, sources said. No arrests were made until Tuesday evening.

Upon hearing of the raid, hundreds of cadre, along with all AIADMK MLAs from Coimbatore district, gathered at Sugunapuram on Tuesday morning. They staged a sit-in-protest in front of Velumani’s house and raised slogans, alleging the raids were conducted by the State government due to political vendetta. City Police Commissioner Deepak M Damor and other officials camped at Sugunapuram to monitor the situation.

The raid at Velumani’s house concluded at 5.30 pm and officials said that except a locker key, no other items were seized. In Vadavalli, while the raid was being carried out at the residence of R Chandrasekar, his supporters staged protests. The officials took him to his farmhouse at Kulathupalayam and brought him back to Vadavalli in the evening. Another aide, K Chandraprakash, was admitted to a private hospital after he developed chest pain during the raid, sources said.

AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam and joint coordinator Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned the raid, saying it was politically motivated. They alleged the charges of corruption were baseless, and asserted that the party would face them politically and legally. “Doubts and regrets arise as to whether the government is concerned with political retaliation rather than public welfare. It is an injustice to blame corruption before the truth is discovered,” they said in a statement.

Pollachi MLA and former deputy speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman said such raids would only strengthen the AIADMK in Coimbatore. “It will not tire us, but increase our strength. If they don’t give up this trend, the DMK will face further setbacks in the upcoming elections. Of the 506 promises during the Assembly election, only a few have been fulfilled,” he added.

Velumani, a four-time MLA, was given a ministerial berth in 2011, and since then, held the Municipal Administration and Rural Development portfolio for the major part of the past 10 years, except when he was dropped from the ministry in 2012 by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa before being re-inducted in 2014. In the recent Assembly election, Velumani won from Thondamuthur constituency and was elected as the AIADMK whip in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

‘Work for people’s welfare first’
Chennai: Taking strong exception to DVAC raids at the residence and other places linked to former minister and Party whip in the State Assembly SP Velumani, AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and Edapapdi K Palaniswami urged the DMK government to “engage in works for people’s welfare instead of targeting former ministers”.

AIADMK set to hit back
As cadres embarked on protests, AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi K Palaniswami condemned the raids and said the party would fight the charges

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