CHENNAI: The Income Tax Department on Tuesday said that it has filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police seeking action against TN Congress Committee president, K Selvaperunthagai, for making defamatory allegations against their department.
The move follows Selvaperunthagai’s statements made on April 20 on his social media pages that I-T officials unlawfully confined him within the (Sriperumbudur) constituency under the pretext of conducting a search, and prevented him from discharging his political duties and participating in election related activities.
In an official statement, the department noted that certain sections of the media also reported that I-T sleuths had searched his residence in Kilpauk. “These allegations are entirely baseless and incorrect. No search, survey or any form of enforcement action was carried out by the I-T department against Selvaperunthagai on April 20 or on any date in the recent past,” the statement said. “No action was undertaken that could have restricted his movements.”
The department clarified that it conducted verification exercises in parts of Sriperumbudur based on intelligence inputs about suspected movement of unaccounted cash ahead of the election. Officials said these checks were routine, carried out in coordination with other authorities and did not involve Selvaperunthagai.
Stating that the remarks were false and defamatory, the department reported the matter to the Election Commission and filed a police complaint seeking legal action for the dissemination of false information.