Two days after Income Tax raids on VK Sasikala’s family came to an end, the jailed AIADMK leader’s niece Krishnapriya has stated that the searches were not political and I-T officials were simply doing their duty.
Krishnapriya is the daughter of Sasikala’s sister-in-law Ilavarasi, who is also in jail for the Disproportionate Assets case. Krishnapriya, her sister Shakeela along with their husbands were called for an inquiry to the I-T office in Nungambakkam on Wednesday.
Addressing the media following the inquiry, Krishnapriya said, “I can’t divulge details on the inquiry when the investigation is still going on. It was a routine inquiry, they carried out their duty and I did my duty. I have come to submit accounts. The inquiry is not over so this is not the right time to speak about it.”
Dismissing questions that the raids were politically motivated, Sasikala’s niece said, “Income Tax raids happens everywhere why are you relating it to politics? That is their duty. We have given full co-operation, they have not taken any documents from my house.”
Krishnapriya’s Habibullah Road residence in Chennai’s T Nagar was one of 187 properties belonging to Sasikala’s family and associates that were searched.
Her statement to the media was similar to the one made by her brother Vivek Jayaraman, who is the MD of Jaya TV and CEO of Jazz Cinemas. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Vivek had sidestepped questions on whether the raids were politically motivated, saying, “The department did their duty. My duty was to give answers, and I did. Other than this, in the next few days, maybe months, they’ll call for enquiry again. Whatever questions they ask us then, we’re ready to answer to our knowledge.”
Their statements are in contrast to their cousin and ‘ousted’ AIADMK Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran’s comments that the I-T raids are politically motivated and an attempt to remove him and aunt Sasikala from politics.
The five-day Income Tax raids that began on Thursday morning spanned 187 locations in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karnataka. According to reports, I-T officials found tax evasion amounting to Rs 1430 crore, and had seized incriminating documents. Officials had also seized Rs 7 crore in cash and jewellery worth around Rs 5 crore.
Sources had earlier told TNM that around 50 accounts were being scrutinised and that many shell companies were working on minimum amount of capital.