Chennai, Jan 22 DMK leader and Member of Parliament (MP) from the Vellore Lok Sabha constituency, Kathir Anand, appeared before the officers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday at the agency’s office on Greams Road, Chennai.
Kathir Anand, son of DMK General Secretary and Tamil Nadu Minister for Water Resources Development S. Duraimurugan, was summoned following extensive searches conducted earlier this month at multiple locations, including his private college, Kengston Engineering College, in Vellore.
On January 3, 2025, the ED carried out searches over a period of 44 hours, involving more than 15 officials who arrived in eight vehicles.
The searches included scrutiny of CCTV footage, financial records, and other data.
Locations raided included the college, the residences of Kathir Anand and S. Duraimurugan, and properties linked to their associates in Katpadi and Vellore.
Sources revealed that the ED seized unaccounted cash, documents related to the college’s financial transactions, and a hard disk.
College authorities, speaking anonymously, claimed the seized money was intended for staff salaries and Pongal festival bonuses, comprising collections from student fees.
The ED’s actions are reportedly connected to a 2019 Income Tax case against Kathir Anand, involving allegations of cash-for-votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
During the election, Rs. 11 crore was confiscated from Anand’s associates, leading to the cancellation of the Vellore constituency election.
In 2019, then-President Ram Nath Kovind, acting on the Election Commission’s recommendation, rescinded the Lok Sabha election in Vellore two days before it was scheduled, citing the seizure of unaccounted cash.
The election, initially slated for April 18, was rescheduled and held on August 5, 2019, where Kathir Anand, representing the DMK, narrowly defeated A.C. Shanmugham of the AIADMK by a margin of 8,141 votes.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Anand however won decisively, defeating Shanmugham — who had since joined the BJP — by a significant margin of 2,15,702 votes.
The DMK has criticised the ED’s actions, calling them “political vendetta.”
The party alleges that the raids are part of a broader strategy to target Opposition leaders.
This is not the first instance of ED raids targeting DMK leaders.
Tamil Nadu Forest Minister K. Ponmudy and his son, Gautham Sigamani, were previously investigated in connection with a money laundering case.
Political analysts suggest that the intensification of ED raids ahead of the upcoming elections raises concerns about the targeting of Opposition figures.
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