VELLORE: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials conducted searches at four locations in Vellore on Friday, including the Gandhi Nagar residence of Water Resources Minister and DMK General Secretary Duraimurugan.
According to sources, the searches were conducted in connection with an Income Tax case regarding the seizure of money related to alleged voter bribing in the 2019 elections. The minister’s house also serves as the official residence of his son, Vellore MP Kathir Anand.
Other places searched included Kingston Engineering College, owned by Kathir Anand, and the houses of local DMK functionary Pooncholai Srinivasan and his relative at Pallikuppam in Vellore district.
Both Duraimurugan and his son were not in Vellore at the time of the search. Sources mentioned that Kathir Anand is currently vacationing in Dubai with his family. The searches at the properties of Pooncholai Srinivasan and his relative concluded around noon, with a few documents seized.
Hammers used to access minister’s locker
Speaking to reporters at his residence in Chennai Kotturpuram, Duraimurugan said, “I don’t know what is happening at my residence. Only my two maids are there, and they are unaware of the situation.” He later granted permission via email for ED officials to access his house using a spare key. The search was conducted in the presence of DMK Katpadi branch secretary Vanniyaraja, Vellore Corporation Deputy Mayor Sunilkumar, and lawyer Balaji.
The ED team, which arrived at the spot at 7 am, allegedly waited outside the minister’s house for nearly seven hours before finally commencing the search at 2 pm after submitting documents confirming the raid to Vanniyaraja and Sunilkumar. Official sources later confirmed that the ED team used hammers and other tools to access the minister’s home locker as part of the search operation.
During the 2019 parliamentary elections, Income Tax officials had raided Duraimurugan’s residence and Kingston Engineering College over allegations of voter bribery. The raids on March 29 and 30, 2019, led to the seizure of Rs 10.57 lakh from the minister’s house. On April 1, 2019, I-T officials searched six more locations, including Srinivasan’s residence and a cement godown owned by his relative, and seized Rs 11.51 crore in cash. A case was subsequently registered against Kathir Anand, Srinivasan, and others at the Katpadi police station for allegedly attempting to bribe voters and hoarding money.
