Seven AIADMK MLAs, who gathered in front of Velumani’s residence at Coimbatore and raised slogans against DMK government, have been detained
Seven AIADMK MLAs, who gathered in front of Velumani’s residence at Coimbatore and raised slogans against DMK government, have been detained
Officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Tuesday, conducted searches at 40 premises linked to AIADMK’s two former Ministers — C. Vijayabaskar and S.P. Velumani — in two separate corruption cases registered against them.
Searches were conducted at the residence of former Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar at Illupur in Pudukottai district and across the State. The case booked against him pertained to irregularities in the issuance of the Essentiality Certificate in 2020, to Vels Medical College and Hospital against the regulations of National Medical Commission.
A seven-member DVAC team launched the search at around 6:30 a.m. at Mr. Vijayabaskar’s house in Illupur, Pudukottai district after a First Information Report was registered. Mr. Vijayabaskar was not present at the house at the time of the search, police sources said. The searches are being conducted at Chennai, Salem, Madurai, Theni and Thiruvallur.
The DVAC had in October last year conducted simultaneous searches at the houses of Mr. Vijayabaskar in Pudukottai district and other places in the State after booking a disproportionate assets case against him and his wife.
At former Minister S.P. Velumani’s residence in Coimbatore
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption conducted searches at the residence of former Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani (AIADMK) in Coimbatore and other places on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in the allocation of tenders to his close associates for the purchase of street lights. This is the third time the agency is conducting searches at his premises in the last one year.
Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption conducting search operations at the residence of former Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani at Coimbatore on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan
The agency charged the former minister misused his official position in awarding tenders for replacing streetlights with LED lights in rural areas from 2015 to 2018. The tender allocation has caused a loss of ₹500 crore to the government exchequer, the release noted.
AIADMK MLAs Amman K. Arjunan, V.P. Kandasamy, A.K. Selvaraj, P.R.G. Arunkumar, S. Damodaran, Amul Kandasamy, K.R. Jayaram and a large number of AIADMK party cadre gathered in front of Mr. Velumani’s residence on Tuesday morning to express their solidarity.
“It (the searches) is a political vendetta and the DVAC has been conducting searches at Velumani’s house for the third time. The DMK government revised the power tariff and people started to agitate against the government. The DVAC is conducting searches to divert the attention of the people,” charged Mr. Amman Arjunan.
The MLAs and cadre raised slogans against the government and the police. All of them were detained.
Searches are ongoing at various places in the State, including nine at Coimbatore.
