Income Tax raids at Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence, Sasikala's rooms searched

Days after a week's raids at jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala’s properties, Income tax department on Friday evening landed at former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence in Chennai.

The Income tax sleuths searched two rooms that were used by Sasikala and another room of her personal secretary S Poongundran at Poes Garden.

Sasikala, a close aide of Jayalalitha was living in her house and continued to stay there until she was sent to jail by the Supreme Court.

For the last one week, IT department was conducting raids at properties of Sasikala and her relatives. Raids were also conducted at Jaya TV office.

The Income Tax (I-T) department sleuths had detected undisclosed income of Rs 1,430 crore in respect of 10 assessee groups which included those linked to Sasikala, her kin and their associates.

V. P. Kalairajan, a TTV Dinakaran supporter and a former MLA on IT raids said, "This is just political vendetta and targeting of one family."

The police had said I-T officials were today verifying documents at the Green Tea Estate at Curzon in Nilgiris district.

The estate is said to be purchased by late chief minister Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala some five years ago.

(With PTI inputs)