Rs 4 crore in cash seized from alleged supporters of BJP candidate in TN

A flying squad seized Rs 4 crore from three persons who were on their way to Tirunelveli in 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 would launch a detailed investigation into the matter.

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

The three are suspected to be supporters of the 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 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 that 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 R.S. Bharathi said in a complaint to CEO Satyabrata Sahoo.

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