Officials manhandled during IT raids at DMK minister’s premises: TN BJP chief

The Income Tax department on Friday carried out raids at around 40 locations across Tamil Nadu linked to Balaji. The searches were being held across several locations in Chennai, Coimbatore and his hometown in Karur district

Supporters of V Senthil Balaji, state minister for electricity, excise and prohibition, allegedly created a ruckus and even vandalised a car belonging to the Income Tax (I-T) department and manhandled officials of the department who on Friday launched coordinated searches in places across Tamil Nadu linked to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) minister.

The Income Tax department on Friday carried out raids at around 40 locations across Tamil Nadu linked to DMK minister (Twitter/@annamalai_k)

The Income Tax department on Friday carried out raids at around 40 locations across Tamil Nadu linked to Balaji. The searches were being held across several locations in Chennai, Coimbatore and his hometown in Karur district.

It was also alleged that Balaji’s supporters gathered in Karur when officials came to search the house of his brother V Ashok and raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led union government.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai took to Twitter and shared the visuals of the incident. He also criticised the DMK for sending goons to manhandle IT officials.

“IT officials manhandled, vehicles vandalised by DMK goons in support of Cash for Job Scam Minister Senthil Balaji & his brother. TN CM Thiru@mkstalinshould instruct his partymen to behave responsibly & remind them that we don’t live in the 60s,” Annamalai wrote on Twitter.

The state BJP chief also demanded strict action against the DMK and the police for failing to provide appropriate security to the officials.

“I urge on behalf of@BJP4TamilNaduthat action should be taken against the DMK who has threatened the lives of the Income Tax Department and against the District Superintendent of Police who has failed to provide adequate protection to the Income Tax Department,” he further wrote.

Visuals from the spot showed the windshield of a car broken and a man breaking the car’s side mirror while some men were seen arguing with the I-T officials.

Commenting on the incident of manhandling of officials, Karur district superintendent of police (SP) E Sundaravathaman said, “The I-T officials had not informed the local police before the raids as per procedure because of which security could not be deployed earlier,”

Officials usually inform the local police and go for searches with the security, Sundaravathaman said. However, after knowing the situation, police personnel, including some senior police officers, were deployed. The SP assured that the I-T officials will be given protection until they complete their work.

The raids come a week after the Supreme Court allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to continue their probe against Balaji in the cash-for-jobs scam--where he is accused of taking bribes when he was transport minister in 2011-2015 in the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government.

The DMK reacted that the BJP is using the I-T, ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) since the party lost the assembly elections in Karnataka earlier this month to the Congress.

“The BJP government is dreaming that it can take revenge on opposition parties through these raids,” DMK’s organising secretary R S Bharathi told reporters in Chennai.

“They are afraid that opposition parties will come together against them in the 2024 parliamentary elections so they want to nib that unity in the bud by using I-T, ED and the CBI.”

Bharathi said that since the Karur SP has said that the I-T department did not inform them of the raids, it raises doubt if it was deliberate to “create a law and order” problem to show that their officials were attacked.

He added, “I spoke to Senthil Balaji this morning and informed him that nobody from the DMK should be there at the spot of the raids. The DMK is ready to punish wrongdoers. Police have already registered a case (against the vandalism).”

He added that this was being done since chief minister M K Stalin is away on a two-nation tour to Singapore and Japan. Bharathi also said that Balaji is being specifically “targeted” because of state BJP chief Annamalai.