Tamil Nadu PWD Minister E V Velu under I-T scanner; raids at 37 places

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Public Works Department (PWD) Minister E V Velu on Friday became the latest DMK bigwig to come under the scanner of Central agencies with the Income Tax department conducting raids at 37 places, including his residences and educational institutions, owned by his family.

I-T sleuths swooped down on the premises linked to Velu in his hometown Tiruvannamalai and in several localities in Chennai, including his offices, early Friday morning. Several premises in Coimbatore and Karur were also raided.

“The raids are underway. 37 locations across Tamil Nadu are being searched,” a source told DH. Velu, who is one of the most influential ministers in Chief Minister M K Stalin’s cabinet, owns several educational institutions, including engineering colleges, in Tiruvannamalai. Velu’s personal assistant, Suresh, and a few others also came under the I-T scanner.

The raids, according to sources, are related to suspected tax evasion by the minister and his family-run institutes and businesses. Central security personnel have been placed at all locations where the I-T raid is underway.

Velu is the fourth senior DMK leader to be raided by Central agencies in the past few months after his cabinet colleagues V Senthil Balaji, who is currently lodged in Puzhal Central Prison in a money laundering case, K Ponmudy, and Arakkonam MP S Jagathrakshakan.

I-T raids on Jagathrakshakan, who owns several educational institutions, including medical and dental colleges, continued for about a week.

Velu, who cut his political teeth in the AIADMK under the legendary M G Ramachandran, joined the DMK in 1997 after falling out with J Jayalalithaa. Having been a close aide of Stalin, Velu was Food Minister in the 2006-2011 DMK government and was allotted the lucrative PWD portfolio in 2021.

DMK condemned the raids on Velu with Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin calling the I-T department as one of the “wings” of the BJP. “This is not new. Like the DMK has several wings, the I-T department, Enforcement Directorate (ED) are wings of the BJP. They are doing jobs assigned to them and we are doing our job. We will face the raids legally,” Udhay said.