New Delhi: On Wednesday, The Income Tax (I-T) department has launched a series of raids, targeting around 40 locations in and around Chennai. These searches conducted at the residences of the contractors and suppliers of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDO) in Chennai.
New Delhi: On Wednesday, The Income Tax (I-T) department has launched a series of raids, targeting around 40 locations in and around Chennai. These searches conducted at the residences of the contractors and suppliers of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDO) in Chennai.
Besides, several officials of TNEB and TANGEDO were also under scanner. The raid was initiated on the basis of complaints of alleged tax evasion. IT officials have been carrying out extensive searches since the early hours of the day at several locations in Chennai, including Thoraipakkam, Pallikaranai, Neelangarai, Navalur, OMR, Ennore and other areas.
It is noteworthy that earlier this year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted similar searches of Tamil Nadu Power Minister V Senthil Balaji and other persons as part of a money laundering probe in several cities.
The principal sessions court in Chennai, which also acts as the special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is expected to announce its decision on the bail plea of minister V Senthil Balaji on September 20, 2023 .
Senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and NR Elango are representing the minister, while Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan is representing the ED in the proceedings. During the hearing, allegations of ulterior motives were made in the ED’s actions, claiming that only Minister V Senthil Balaji was implicated in the case.
Additionally, it was claimed that the Income Tax Department had accepted the returns filed by the minister for an amount of Rs 1.34 crore, which the ED has said is the proceeds of crime. Sibal further said that during custodial interrogation, the ED had allegedly approached Balaji to join the BJP.
