Income Tax raids on four business groups in Tamil Nadu

Tuesday’s raids have no connection with the marathon I-T raids conducted on the premises of members of the Mannargudi clan headed by now jailed VK Sasikala, officials said. 

The raids involved four independent assessee groups, including a textile firm and a company with interest in real estate, besides a firm running a cinema house in the city and another company that owns a sugar factory. “Two directors of a group have been found to be linked with other firms operating from a single address. Hence the raids,” an I-T official said. The raids covered 21 locations in the city and 12 in other parts of TN. The premises belong to Patel Group, Marg Group, Milan Group and Ganga Foundations Group.

Raids were also carried out in Madurai, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts. In Madurai, ‘Milan’em Mall’ was raided and a few documents seized. Sources said that the owner of the mall was planning to sell it to Vivek Jayaraman, Sasikala’s nephew. Vivek had also reportedly obtained documents of the mall. “It is not clear if the proposed deal is linked to the I-T raid,” sources said. In Thoothukudi, a hotel, an export-import firm and offices were raided.