EC squad nabs trio with Rs 4 cr; Nainar denies link to cash, people
CHENNAI/MADURAI: In one of the biggest hauls this Lok Sabha election campaign, the Election Commission flying squad and Tambaram city police searched Nellai Express when it halted at Tambaram and seized Rs 4 crore from three passengers, who police sources said were staff of the hotel owned by senior BJP leader and Tirunelveli seat candidate Nainar Nagendran MLA.
After the issue snowballed, Nagendran told reporters that he was being targeted by the ruling DMK to tarnish his image because he was poised to win the election.
On Saturday night, after receiving a tip-off about the movement of a huge amount of cash, the officials searched Nellai Express. In coach S7, they found three passengers carrying Rs 3.99 crore in Rs 500 denomination in six bags.
They were identified as S Sathish (33) and his brother S Navin (31) of Chennai, and S Perumal (26) of Srivaikuntam in Thoothukudi. The Tambaram police booked them under section 171 (e) of IPC (bribery).
On Sunday, officials searched Hotel Blue Diamond in Kilpauk, owned by Nagendran, while Tambaram police checked a lodge in Chepauk and the house of Nagendran’s relative. In Tirunelveli, the flying squad led by I-T officials seized unaccounted cash Rs 3.72 lakh from a hotelier, and Rs 2 lakh, dhotis, nighties, and liquor bottles from another person. Both are allegedly linked to Nagendran, officials said.
Finding himself on the dock, Nagendran claimed that he had no connection with the cash that was seized from the train passengers.
“I have no connection with the seized cash nor the people from whom it was seized. I am being targeted and my image is being maligned, as I have a possibility to win from Tirunelveli,” he told reporters, blaming the DMK for scripting this.
Meanwhile, though a statement from the office of Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said the seized cash would be sent to the Income Tax Department for further investigation, the officials later decided to keep the cash in the State treasury.
Sources told DT Next that the IT department tried to take physical custody of the cash but was not successful, as the State officials pointed out that the central agency need not have the money in their custody to investigate. “They don’t need the money for investigation. So the Collector refused to hand over the money,” sources said, indicating an element of mistrust between the State and central machinery.