DVAC registers Rs 58 cr DA case against AIADMK ex-min Kamaraj

CHENNAI: Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has registered a Rs 58.44 crore disproportionate asset case against former Food Minister R Kamaraj, his relatives and associates. Raids were carried out at 52 places, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchy and Thanjavur on Friday. DVAC noted that the former minister had used the name of a non-existing hotel to park his ill gotten money.

Apart from Kamaraj, who is the sitting MLA of Nannilam, Thiruvarur, the DVAC has listed his two sons Dr MK Iniyan and Dr K Inban as accused in the case along with his associates R Chandrasekhar, B Krishnamurthy and S Udayakumar. The former AIADMK minister is accused of misusing his official position and enriching himself and his family members by illegal means.

DVAC noted that the last three accused aided the former minister to acquire properties including in the name of a non-existing hotel named NARC Hotel to the value over Rs 27 crore. There is no hotel in the name of NARC Hotel and it existed only in the paper with no business transaction, DVAC noted.

As on 1 April 2015 – in the beginning of the check period the value of the assets found in the name of Kamaraj and his family members was Rs 1.39 crore. As on 31 March 2021, at the end of the check period the assets of the accused, including the associates of Kamaraj, went up to Rs 60.24 crore. After calculating the genuine income, expense and possible savings DVAC pegged the DA as Rs 54.44 crore.

During the searches conducted by sleuths in 52 locations on Friday (Chennai-6, Tiruchirappalli-3, Coimbatore-1, Thanjavur-4, Thiruvarur-2 and Mannargudi-36), an amount of Rs 41,06,000, gold ornaments weighing about 963 sovereigns, about 23.96 kg of Silver, iPhone, personal computer, pen drive, hard discs and other incriminating documents were found and among them unaccounted cash of Rs.15.5 lakh, bank locker key, pen drive, hard discs, personal computer, I-phone and other incriminating documents pertaining to the case were seized. The case is under investigation.

After DMK came to power in May 2021, cases of disproportionate assets were slapped against number of former ministers during the past one year.