ED raids Tamil Nadu Minister I Periyasamy and son over money laundering.
Case involves Rs 2.1 crore disproportionate assets from 2006–2010.
Madras HC orders day-to-day trial and framing of charges.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches on Saturday at multiple properties linked to Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader I Periyasamy, as well as his son, in connection with a money laundering investigation, officials said.
According to PTI, properties of I P Sentilkumar, Periyasamy’s son and a sitting MLA, were also searched. Periyasamy represents the Athoor assembly constituency in Dindigul district and holds the portfolio of rural development, panchayats and panchayat unions.
There was no immediate response from Periyasamy or the DMK regarding the ED action, reported PTI.
The current investigation follows an April order by the Madras High Court directing a special court in Dindigul to frame charges against Periyasamy and his family members in a case concerning allegedly disproportionate assets worth Rs 2.1 crore.
PTI reported that the HC order came in response to criminal revision petitions filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), which had challenged an earlier special court ruling that had discharged Periyasamy and his family from the case. The court also instructed that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis and concluded within six months.
The prosecution contends that Periyasamy, during his tenure as a minister from 2006 to 2010, acquired assets amounting to Rs 2.1 crore in his name and in the names of his wife P Suseela and sons P Sentilkumar and P Prabhu, which were disproportionate to his declared sources of income.
(WIth inputs from PTI)
