Special teams of the Madurai district police on Monday conducted searches on the premises of granite businessman P.R. Palanichamy at Anna Nagar here and in buildings in suburban pockets belonging to his associates and relatives.
The operation, which began at 5 a.m., was led by Superintendent of Police V. Balakrishnan.
According to the police, criminal cases registered against granite operators during the last one week in different police stations in Madurai district have been taken over by the District Crime Branch police with effect from Monday.
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The police said that preliminary inquiries suggested there were crucial documents in different places. The searches carried out by about 20 teams were videographed.
From one house, the police seized land documents registered in different sub-registrar offices, Mr. Balakrishnan said, adding that over Rs. 15 lakh in cash was seized from at least two places.
A team found used cartridges from the residence of a person. Though inquiries suggested that the person had a licence, they were examining the reasons for the use of the cartridges, said another police officer.
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As a sequel to the probe, C.A. Shanmugavelu, retired Assistant Director (Mines and Minerals, Government of Tamil Nadu), who is working for PRP Granite Company, was arrested on criminal charges.