Chennai raid: Seized ₹90 crore belongs to AIADMK?

Chennai's Income Tax department's investigation wing officials have claimed that they recently recovered ₹90 crore in cash and it includes ₹10 crore in ₹2000 new currency notes, and 100 kg gold from many businessmen in the city. 

 

One of the prominent names mentioned by the officials is Shekar Reddy, who is supposedly associated with AIADMK and also a top level IAS official in Tamil Nadu. 

 

These sudden IT raids are raising many questions especially in political circle of the state. The Indian Express report confirmed that a senior AIADMK functionary stated that Reddy was a party member and that the recent raids are 'another shock for the AIADMK leadership' since the demise of Jayalalithaa. 

 

Shekar Reddy also happens to be a member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) who visited Apollo Hospital last month where Jayalalithaa was undergoing treatment to offer 'prasadam' from Tirupati temple. 

 

Back in 2014 also Reddy accompanied the current Tamil Nadu CM, O Panneerselvam, in his visit to Tirupati temple after Jayalalithaa was released from Bengaluru prison after her imprisonment in the case of disproportionate assets. 

 

The party functionary disclosed that Reddy started as a civil contractor and was also involved in the sand-quarry business and was able to get contracts from Southern Railways. In last general elections, though Jayalalithaa denied him giving a seat in Vellore. 

 

The Income Tax official gave out the details of the raid and claimed that 70 kg gold had been seized from rooms of a hotel in Teynamet that were supposedly booked by Reddy's associates. Another, ₹6 crore in ₹2,000 currency notes were seized from this T Nagar residence. 

 

As per an official, the raid was conducted in seven locations initially that have been extended to more than a dozen places including jewellers, real-estate consultancy offices, contractors, hotel in Chennai. The amount of gold that was seized during the raid is approximately worth more than ₹28 crore, reported The Indian Express. 

 

The official also disclosed that multiple teams of 20 to 25 officers have been formed to raid on different places simultaneously. T Nagar, Anna Nagar, and Teynampet are the areas where the raids to conducted. 

 

Apart from Shekar Reddy, the other prominent businessmen whose came under the radar of the IT raid is Srinivasa Reddy.