The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the residence and multiple locations linked to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kathir Anand in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu on Friday. The raids started on Friday morning are also conducted in premises associated with Anand's close aides, including Poonjolai Srinivasan, a confidant of senior DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan.
The supporters of Kathir Anand gathered outside his residence.
Kathir Anand is the son of Durai Murugan, who is the Water Resources Minister and the general secretary of DMK.
The ED's investigation is based on a 2019 Income Tax complaint over alleged tax evasion. The case involves the seizure of Rs 11.48 crore in cash from locations connected to Anand. The then-President Ram Nath Kovind, acting on the recommendation of the Election Commission of India (ECI), annulled the Lok Sabha election in Vellore following the seizure of unaccounted cash linked to Kathir Anand and related locations, as per a report on IANS. In the 2019 polls, ECI officials recovered Rs 11 crore from Anand's residence and other properties.
The ECI issued a statement, saying, "Accepting the recommendation of the Election Commission of India dated April 14, 2019, the Honourable President is pleased to rescind the election to the Vellore parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu."
Originally scheduled for April 18, 2019, the election was cancelled on April 16, 2019, due to the cash recovery. A re-election was held on August 5, 2019, where Kathir Anand of the DMK won by a narrow margin of 8,141 votes, defeating A.C. Shanmugham of the AIADMK.