Rs 1,200 Crore And More: I-T Dept Continues Raids At Dozens Of Locations Connected With Sasikala

With the ongoing raids by the Income Tax Department (I-T Department) on properties owned by convicted All India Anna Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader V K Sasikala and her associates entering its second day, more and more skeletons are tumbling out of the closet.

The I-T department has discovered diamond jewellery and Swiss watches inside cupboards of unoccupied hostel rooms in a women's college in Tiruvarur district, reports The Times of India. A senior official said that around Rs 6 crore in cash, 8.5 kg gold worth Rs 2.4 crore and documents relating to investments worth over Rs 1,200 crore was found and the owners could not provide any source of income.

A hostel in Sengamala Thayaar Educational Trust Women's College – owned by Sasikala's brother V Dhivaharan at Sundarakottai in Mannargudi –was searched and several valuables were found hidden in unused hostel rooms. "They include diamond jewellery and Rolex watches. We are in the process of assessing their value," said an I-T official.

Suspicions grew when a group of protesters tried to prevent the officials from entering the college premises. They claimed that the I-T department would plant evidence against Dhivaharan. They were later on arrested yesterday (10 November), when searches across 50 of the 188 properties ended. Other locations, including the Kodanandu Estate in the Nilgiris, owned partly by late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, will be searched in the coming days.

Several documents relating to shell firms were found on the premises of Jaya TV Managing Director and Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman and his sister Krishna Priya. Ilavarasi , their mother is also a co-accused in the disproportionate assets case. Data was copied by officials from several laptops and desktops in various residences with arguments breaking out between relatives of the accused and officials over the seizure of gold ornaments.