I-T officials raid former Union Minister Jagathrakshakan's residence

300 officials carrt out raids in 40 locations

Income Tax officials initiated search operations at the residence of former Union Minister S Jagathrakshakan, and various other locations in a case related to alleged tax violations. He was the former Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in 2012-13 and is a leader of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

According to official sources, the raids were conducted by a team of about 300 officials at around 40 locations in and out of Tamil Nadu, starting Wednesday morning. Jagathrakshakan is also a businessman with interests in education and other areas, according to reports.

The raids are still going on and more information could not be revealed at this point of time, said the official.

It may be noted that Jagathrakshakan was in the middle of controversy in issues including the 2012 coal scam, when allegations surfaced that he managed to get illegal coal allocation for his company in 2007. According to an agency report, in 2014, he revealed that he has assets worth Rs 78 crore, while filing nomination for the Lok Sabha polls from Tamil Nadu.