Fake IT official 'raids' Jaya niece's house

High drama prevailed at the house of J Deepa, niece of former Tamil Nadu chief minister, the late J Jayalalithaa, as a man posing as an IT department official tried to conduct searches at her house here  on Saturday.

Police said Mitesh Kumar, who identified himself as an IT department official, showed his "identity card" and the "search warrant" on arrival at the residence. "He showed the identity card and the search warrant to us. We believed it was true and allowed him," Sami Chinnapillai, advocate of J Deepa Peravai (Forum) told reporters.

No raid

When asked why only one person had come, he said the others would come by 10 AM and paste the search warrant on the door, the advocate said. "But following his suspicious movements, I called up the police," he said. Television channels showed visuals of Kumar trying to cover the camera lens with his hand and also directing some journalists not to enter the premises. Soon after police arrived on the spot, it was confirmed that the Income Tax department had no plans to conduct any raid. TV visuals showed Kumar fleeing the scene on seeing the police personnel and being chased by police and mediapersons. However, he managed to give them the slip. Deepa's husband Madhavan said he had told Kumar that he would extend all cooperation for conducting the search after seeing his "identity card."

A senior police official told PTI a special team has been formed to nab Kumar. "We received a complaint from Madhavan. A four-member team comprising inspectors has been formed. We are on the job," he added.