<p>Chennai: Tamil Nadu Rural Development Minister I Periyasamy on Saturday joined the list of high-profile DMK leaders to come under the radar of Central agencies when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swooped down on premises connected to him and his MLA son in Chennai and Dindigul. </p>.<p>High drama unfolded at the MLA quarters in the Government Estate when ED officials apparently tried to break open the apartment that Periyasamy's son I P Senthilkumar occupied.</p>.<p>Entry at the State Secretariat was also restricted as speculation mounted that ED officials would come there to search Periyasamy’s chamber. </p>.<p>Searches were conducted at the minister’s official residence in Greenways Road in Chennai, and on premises he owns in Durairaj Nagar, besides Vallalar Nagar in Dindigul city and Seelapadi village in the district.</p>.<p>Periyasamy and Senthilkumar are powerful DMK leaders from the Dindigul district.</p>.<p>Sources said the searches were in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case that Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) filed against Periyasamy and his family members on charges of amassing wealth from 2006 to 2011, when he was a minister in then chief minister M Karunanidhi’s Cabinet.</p>.<p>Though a trial court acquitted them, Justice P Velmurugan of the Madras High Court set aside the acquittal in April and ordered a fresh trial. </p>.<p>Reacting to the raids, DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi said they were an attempt to divert public attention from the "vote chori" (vote theft) allegations levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against the BJP and the Election Commission. </p>.<p>Before Periyasamy, Public Works Department Minister E V Velu and Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru were already under the scanner of the Income Tax Department and the ED, respectively.</p>.<p>V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy, who were removed from the Cabinet in April, are also under the ED's lens. </p>
<p>Chennai: Tamil Nadu Rural Development Minister I Periyasamy on Saturday joined the list of high-profile DMK leaders to come under the radar of Central agencies when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swooped down on premises connected to him and his MLA son in Chennai and Dindigul. </p>.<p>High drama unfolded at the MLA quarters in the Government Estate when ED officials apparently tried to break open the apartment that Periyasamy's son I P Senthilkumar occupied.</p>.<p>Entry at the State Secretariat was also restricted as speculation mounted that ED officials would come there to search Periyasamy’s chamber. </p>.<p>Searches were conducted at the minister’s official residence in Greenways Road in Chennai, and on premises he owns in Durairaj Nagar, besides Vallalar Nagar in Dindigul city and Seelapadi village in the district.</p>.<p>Periyasamy and Senthilkumar are powerful DMK leaders from the Dindigul district.</p>.<p>Sources said the searches were in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case that Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) filed against Periyasamy and his family members on charges of amassing wealth from 2006 to 2011, when he was a minister in then chief minister M Karunanidhi’s Cabinet.</p>.<p>Though a trial court acquitted them, Justice P Velmurugan of the Madras High Court set aside the acquittal in April and ordered a fresh trial. </p>.<p>Reacting to the raids, DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi said they were an attempt to divert public attention from the "vote chori" (vote theft) allegations levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against the BJP and the Election Commission. </p>.<p>Before Periyasamy, Public Works Department Minister E V Velu and Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru were already under the scanner of the Income Tax Department and the ED, respectively.</p>.<p>V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy, who were removed from the Cabinet in April, are also under the ED's lens. </p>