Close on the heels of DMK pulling out of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today carried out searches at 20 places across Tamil Nadu, including the residence of DMK chief M. Karunanidhi’s son M.K. Stalin in Chennai, as well as a close associate of Stalin, in a case of alleged tax evasion on imported cars.
Since Stalin’s son, Udayanidhi Stalin, has been using one of those cars (a Hummer), a five-member CBI team raided Stalin’s house on Thursday morning.
According to one of the CBI officials, over 30 luxury cars were imported by different people in Chennai.
The official mentioned that there were reports of duty evasion to the tune of over Rs 20 crore, and the case was with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
“We are here to enquire about the case,” said the official
After the CBI team left the house, Stalin too left for the Assembly for the Tamil Nadu Budget presentation. Speaking to a group of journalists, Stalin dubbed the raid as “political vendetta” and said he would face it legally.
As the news of CBI raids spread, senior DMK leaders and a large number of party supporters thronged the street, where Stalin’s house is located.
PTI reports say that an FIR was registered on Wednesday by the investigating agency against one senior Intelligence Officer of the DRI Muruganandam and two others for allegedly abusing their official position by not taking any action when the import of foreign cars, including some limousines, was made.
According to the FIR, the officials have allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with unknown people and caused a loss of Rs 20 crore to the exchequer.