Officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) launched simultaneous searches at the houses of former Health Minister C.Vijayabaskar and his relatives in Pudukottai and other places in the State on Monday, October 18, 2021 after booking a disproportionate assets case against him and his wife.
Mr. Vijayabhaskar is the fourth Minister, after M.R.Vijayabhaskar , S .P.Velumani and K.C.Veeramani , of the previous AIADMK government to face such action from the DVAC after the DMK was voted to power.
According to DVAC sources, searches were being conducted at around 30 places in Pudukottai district, including the Minister’s house at his native Illupur and a clutch of educational institutions run by Mother Teresa Educational and Charitable Trust, created by his family.
This apart, searches were on at 14 other places in the State, a DVAC official in Pudukottai told The Hindu. These included premises of Mr. Vijayabaskar’s family members and relatives in Tiruchi, Chennai and Coimbatore. The searches began early on Monday morning and are likely to continue through the day.
Former Tamil Nadu former Health Minister and AIADMK leader C.Vijayabaskar.
The DVAC searches were being conducted by different teams based on an FIR filed by its Pudukottai unit filed on information that Mr.Vijayabaskar had indulged in corrupt practices and enriched himself by acquiring assets in his and dependents’ names.
Charges against wife
During his period in office, Dr.Vijayabaskar and his wife Ramya, also cited as an accused in the case, were alleged to have been in possession of pecuniary resources and movable and immovable properties valued at about ₹27.22 crore, which were disproportionate to their known sources of income. The properties were allegedly in the form of deposits in banks, jewels, motor vehicles, agriculture lands, house sites, insurance policies, investment in the partnership firms and buildings in his, his wife and dependents names. He and his family members were said to be proprietors or shareholders in various business firms too.
By holding properties by way of investment in partnership firms, bank balance, insurance polices and apartment, Ms.Ramya had intentionally abetted Mr. Vijayabaskar in acquiring the properties, the DVAC alleged.
The trust created by the family was running as many as 14 educational institutions, including engineering, arts and science, agriculture, education, nursing, pharmacy, polytechnic, catering and physical education colleges besides a school in Illupur, which raised reasonable suspicion that they were also established with the money acquired illicitly by Dr.Vijayabaskar, the DVAC said.
A case has been registered against Dr.Vijayabaskar and Ms.Ramya under Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and Section 109 IPC read with 13(2), 13(l)(c) and 13(l)(b) and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
