Tax sleuths seize Rs 11.53 cr cash from TN warehouse

Days ahead of the April 18 polls in Tamil Nadu, Election Commission (EC) sources in New Delhi on Monday said Income Tax (I-T) sleuths had seized Rs 11.53 crore cash from a cement godown belonging to a DMK leader's associate in Vellore district of the southern state.

I-T sources told PTI that cash stuffed in cartons and gunny bags, neatly packed for ward and division-wise distribution, was unearthed by the department's investigation wing officials on Monday.

The development comes days after tax sleuths raided the premises of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer Duraimurugan in Vellore and seized Rs 10.50 lakh.

During the searches at Duraimurugan's residence on Saturday, printouts containing details of certain wards were seized, which were dismissed as junk by the assessee.

The cash seized from the godown was suspected to have been shifted during the intervening night of March 29 and 30 from a college, which was searched on March 30, the sources said.