Rs 4 cr cash seized from three persons suspected to be supporters of BJP candidate in Tamil Nadu

A team of Flying squad has seized Rs 4 crore from three persons who were on their way to Tirunelveli in the poll-bound Tamil Nadu, police and election officials said on Sunday. The office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said the Income Tax department will launch a detailed investigation into the matter.

The three persons had boarded a train to Tirunelveli from Egmore here and the team of officials intercepted them at nearby Tambaram late last night and found Rs 4 crore in their possession. They had no valid documents to carry the said amount of cash.

They are suspected to be supporters of BJP's Tirunelveli Lok Sabha candidate Nainar Nagendran and have been detained for interrogation.


Meanwhile, the ruling DMK in the state took up the matter with the CEO, seeking action against Nagendran.

The office of the CEO, quoted the District Election Officer, Chengalpet, as saying that Rs 4 crore was seized at the Tambaram railway station.

"It has been sent to Income Tax Department for further investigation. The department will investigate the seized amount of more than Rs 10 lakh during election time. Accordingly, all the information related to the seizure has been sent to it. Following this, the Income Tax Department will conduct a detailed investigation into the matter," it said.

The DMK sought action against Nagendran, alleging he planned to distribute money to voters.

"We suspect that Mr Nainar Nagendran stored several crores of money in secret places to distribute to voters," DMK Organisation Secretary RS Bharathi said in a complaint to TN CEO, Satyabrata Sahoo.

The party demanded that searches be conducted at all places belonging to Nagendran.

Meanwhile, Nagendran claimed he had nothing to do with the money that was seized.

Speaking to a Tamil TV channel in Tirunelveli on the matter, the BJP leader alleged that it was a "bid to malign my reputation."