The Income Tax (I-T) Department on Thursday conducted simultaneous searches at multiple properties belonging to senior DMK leader and former Minister for Food E.V. Velu.

The searches began even as DMK president M.K. Stalin was canvassing votes for Mr. Velu, who has been fielded in the Tiruvannamalai Assembly constituency.

According to I-T Department officials, searches were conducted at around 10 locations, including in Chennai and Tiruvannamalai, based on an input that the Department received.

‘Tip-off received’

“We got a tip-off regarding cash movement,” a source from the Department said. By evening, the officials had seized ₹3.5 crore in unaccounted-for cash. “The searches are still on,” another official said, adding that more details would be made available only when the searches concluded.

The I-T Department had deployed its teams across the State to monitor cash movement after the announcement of the Assembly election dates.

“There were several searches [election-related] that happened in the last few weeks in Tamil Nadu. Seizures were made in around 35-40 cases. The total amount seized till date is ₹65 crore,” a source said.