Chennai: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) bureau on Thursday conducted raids at 28 places associated with former AIADMK Minister and Jholarpet MLA K C Veeramani. This comes after raids were conducted at the premises of former AIADMK Ministers -- M R Vijayabhaskar and S P Velumani recently.
But clashes erupted soon after between supporters of former Tamil Nadu minister KC Veeramani and police, outside his residence in Vellore following DVAC searches at the minister's premises.
The DVAC officials on Thursday said that they were looking into the period from April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2021.
The AIADMK leader was a minister of Schools, Education, Archeology, Sports and Youth Welfare as also Tamil languages and Tamil Culture during the period from 2013 to 2016. After the AIADMK assumed power in 2016 for the second consecutive term, Veeramani was posted as the minister for commercial taxes and registration department.
During the raids, sources said that the DVAC has unearthed several documents related to the former minister's growth in assets since 2016.
The agency has registered an FIR stating that the former minister has acquired assets worth Rs 28 crore that were not accounted for.
The FIR said, "KC Veeramani was involved in corrupt activities and had intentionally enriched him illicitly and acquired properties and pecuniary resources in his name which are disproportionate to his known sources of income."
With the DVAC conducting raids on the premises of the third AIADMK leader, the politics of vendetta and vindictiveness that has been in practice in Tamil Nadu during the days of M Karunanidhi and J. Jayalalithaa seems to have come back in the state, political observers said.
In August, DVAC had conducted simultaneous searches at over 50 places including the houses and business premises of former Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration and Water Supplies Minister SP Velumani, his relatives and associates in Chennai, Coimbatore and Kancheepuram districts.
The DVAC of the state police had in July conducted inspections at the premises of former transport minister and AIADMK leader M.R. Vijayabhaskar.
The Kodanad murder and heist case is another major hindrance that the AIADMK has to face as there are reports on the former Chief Minister K. Palaniswami being targeted in the case.
The AIADMK had already lashed out stating that the DMK was practicing vengeance against their (AIADMK) leaders.
