The Income Tax surveillance team which made a vain bid to search the house of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam functionary S.M. Noor Mohamed for cash allegedly stacked for distribution to voters on Tuesday, conducted the search operation on Wednesday but the exercise turned out to be futile.
The six-member team, led by Michael Gerald, Deputy Commissioner, IT wing, Madurai, reached Mr. Mohamed’s residence on Tuesday but could not conduct the search operation as Mr. Mohamed and his family members were away and the team members avoided breaking open the house.
After Mr. Mohamed’s wife and a relative woman turned up and opened the house on Wednesday morning, the team members searched the ground floor and the first floor of the house for nearly six hours, but could not seize any cash, sources said. They found about 15 sovereigns of jewels used by the family members but did not seize them.
The team found some incriminating documents, mostly land documents for a total value of Rs. 2.45 crore, and registered a case. Mr. Mohamed, who is the AIADMK district minority wing deputy secretary and Sakkarakottai panchayat president, failed to turn up for the second day when the team conducted the search operation.
The IT team embarked on the search based on a tip-off that he had allegedly stacked cash in his house to be distributed to voters ahead of the May 16 Assembly election.
