DVAC raids former AIADMK ministers' houses, firms

Chennai, Oct 27 (UNI) Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) sleuths today conducted simultaneous raids on the residential and business establishments of former AIADMK ministers Nainar Nagendran and S M Velusamy and their family members and friends in the city and at their native places.

Official sources said the raids followed reports that they had allegedly amassed wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income, in their names and in the names of their family members.

Mr Nagendran and Mr Velusamy served as Industries and Backward Classes Ministers respectively in the previous AIADMK regime.

Sources said searches, conducted in 39 places belonging to Mr Nagendran and Mr Velusamy, led to the seizure of several documents and bank passbooks.

However, police and DVAC sources said raids were held in 12 places belonging to Mr Nagendran in various parts of Chennai city and in his native place of southern Tirunelveli district. Searches were also conducted in one of the places belonging to him in Kochi.

In respect of Mr Velusamy, officials raided eight places belonging to him and his family members in the city and Coimbatore.

Reports received here said the raids were conducted in Mr Nagendran's house at Maharaja Nagar in Tirunelveli, Nainar Shopping Complex in Tirunelveli and residences of his brother Veera Perumal, his father-in-law, brothers-in-law besides shops run by Nainar's relatives, his ancestoral property at Thandayarkulam and premises belonging to Nainar's friends at Madurai, K K Nagar and Anna Nagar.

In Chennai, they raided his house at Asin Court in Raja Annamalaipuram, the houses of the shareholders in his company at Anna Nagar, a hotel run by him at Purasaiwakkam, an export firm in Mount Road and a hotel run by his wife in Egmore.

Raids were also conducted at the places belonging to Mr Velusamy, including his residences at Sengathurai and Gandhimanagar in Coimbatore.

A report from Coimbatore said, during the raids that lasted two hours, the officials seized some documents.

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