Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V. Senthilbalaji’s brother V. Ashok Kumar on Tuesday failed to appear before Income Tax officials. The Income Tax Department had served a notice on Mr. Ashok Kumar, under Section 131(1A) of the Income Tax Act, asking him to appear before its office at Andankoil on Tuesday. The notice, served by J. Nagaraj, Deputy Director, Income Tax, Chennai, directed him to bring books of accounts and documents.
Meanwhile, the searches being carried out by Income Tax officials on the premises of persons linked to the Minister continued for the fifth consecutive day in Karur. The premises of Mr. Ashok Kumar, at Ramakrishnapuram, was also searched. It was among the properties of Mr. Ashok Kumar where the officials had gone to carry out simultaneous searches on Friday. But they were forced to retreat from some of the places because of the hostile reaction from DMK workers and the supporters of Mr. Senthilbalaji.
According to sources, a team of officials, accompanied by Central Reserve Police Force personnel, went to Mr. Ashok Kumar’s office on Tuesday morning and waited for some time to open it. Upon receiving information, an employee of his arrived there and opened the door. The officials thereafter entered the premises to carry out searches. No outsider was allowed to enter the premises during the operation that continued beyond 6 p.m. It is alleged the premises at Ramakrishnapuram had been used as an office by Mr. Senthilbalaji whenever he visited Karur.
Hours after the officials brought the premises of Mr. Ashok Kumar under the search net, another team entered a commercial complex, reportedly owned by M. Ragunathan, DMK Thanthonrimalai (East) union secretary.
Meanwhile, the Karur police arrested four more DMK workers in connection with the attack on income tax officials. K. Vignesh, 33, deputy organiser, DMK IT Wing, Karur; R.K. Krishnan, 55, DMK Farmers’ Wing secretary, Karur; L. Kanagaraj, 22; and M. Sathiskumar, 33, were said to have assaulted the officials when they went to search the house ofa DMK functionary at Rayanur on Friday. All of them were remanded in judicial custody.
The number of persons who have been arrested on the charge of assaulting the officials in different parts of the city has gone up to 14.
