CHENNAI: Who could possibly say that Duraimurugan from whom crores of rupees intended for distribution for his son’s election was seized in Vellore in March 2019 is not the general secretary of DMK, and not a permanent trustee of DMK trust? Indeed, it was the DMK itself that made such a claim, in a writ petition that it filed on January 28, 2021.
RS Bharati, who filed the petition on behalf of the party, had claimed that the D Duraimurugan, who was raided in Vellore and whose son Kathir Anand was the DMK candidate is not the same Duraimurugan who is the general secretary and permanent trustee of the DMK trust.
The reason given by DMK was that the person raided was D Duraimurugan, while their trustee is simply Duraimurugan without the initial ‘D’. The writ petition was supported by an affidavit filed by K Ponmudi, the organising secretary of DMK.
Why did DMK disown its own general secretary?
K Ponmudi, the organising secretary of DMK, also repeated the same claim – that D Duraimurugan i s not the same as Duraimurugan. Shocked by DMK disowning its own general secretary and permanent trustee, the IT Department scrambled for proof and finally got the patta of the agricultural lands owned by D Duraimurugan issued by Tehsildar, Katpadi, dated 4.4.2005, with a photo of D Duraimurugan.
The photo showed that D Duraimurugan, who was raided by the IT department, is the same as Duraimurugan, the DMK general secretary. When the evidence that Duraimurugan with and without initial D was one and the same person was produced in the High Court before Justice Anita Sumant, the DMK counsel protested against fresh evidence being produced in the court. The judge ruled out the objection and is expected to be hear the case soon before disposing it off.
What, however, raised eyebrows was why did the DMK disown its own general secretary and permanent trustee Duraimurugan? The Income Tax Department had transferred the case of DMK Trust from the charitable exemption wing of the Department to the assessment wing to coordinate the investigation of D Duraimurugan raid case with the DMK Trust accounts because D Duraimurugan is also the trustee of the DMK Trust.
This could have possibly prompted DMK party to disown its own general secretary D Duraimurugan by claiming that the two are not the same and the Duraimurugan in the trust had no connection with the D Duraimurugan who was raided by the IT Department. It is learnt that the proof in the form of patta certificate came from within the DMK sources!