JOIN USEx-AIADMK minister raided by DVAC
Sleuths from the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Thursday swooped down on the premises belonging to former Transport Minister M R Vijayabhaskar in his native Karur district and in Chennai. The raids are related to alleged corruption in the Transport Department during the AIADMK’s tenure from 2016 to 2021.
The raids were being conducted at 20 places in Karur district and at Vijayabhaskar’s residence in Chennai, sources told DH. The raids began at 7 am.
After four hours of the raid at Vijayabhaskar’s apartment in Chennai, his lawyer Selvam said they were cooperating with the DVAC sleuths. “They asked for accounts, and we have given them. We are cooperating with them,” he told reporters.
Sources said the raids are in connection with alleged corruption in the department when Vijayabhaskar was the minister for transport. The raids by DVAC assume significance as sources said this is the beginning of an operation to “unearth corruption” in the erstwhile AIADMK regime.
Chief Minister M K Stalin had, during his election campaign, promised to set up a special court to try all cases of corruption against AIADMK ministers. He had also submitted a “chargesheet” against half-a-dozen then ministers to Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
Vijayabhaskar lost the 2021 Assembly elections to his archrival V Senthil Balaji, now the electricity minister in the DMK government. Both were in AIADMK before Balaji jumped the ship in 2018.
DVAC is now headed by seasoned IPS officer P Kandaswamy, who shot into fame after he headed the team that arrested Amit Shah when he was Gujarat minister for his alleged involvement in the Sohrabuddin encounter case.
Kandaswamy, who was DIG with the CBI when he probed the case in which Shah was named first and later discharged, holds the rank of Director General of Police.