Officers from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched simultaneous searches on Saturday at the properties of Tamil Nadu Rural Development Minister I Periyasamy, his family members, and linked premises in Dindigul and Chennai, reviving a years-old disproportionate assets case that had been dismissed but was recently reopened by the Madras High Court.
About a dozen ED officials, split into three teams and backed by armed Central Reserve Police Force personnel, arrived at three residential locations in Dindigul — Durairaj Nagar, Vallalar Nagar, and Seelapadi — around 7:30 am. Local DMK cadre quickly gathered near the sites as police tightened security.
The searches targeted the minister’s home, as well as that of his son and Dindigul East MLA I P Senthil Kumar and his daughter Indra. In Chennai, ED teams conducted searches at Periyasamy’s official bungalow on Greenways Road under heavy Central Armed Police Force protection. Officers also visited the MLAs’ hostel at the Government Omandurar Estate.
Periyasamy, a senior leader of the ruling DMK, his wife Suseela, and sons Senthil Kumar and Prabhu had been acquitted by a Dindigul trial court in a Rs 2.01 crore disproportionate assets case dating back to 2006–2010. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption alleged that the family had amassed assets in excess of their known income during his earlier tenure as minister.
The acquittal was overturned in April by Justice P Velmurugan of the Madras High Court, who ordered a fresh trial. The family has appealed in the Supreme Court, with a hearing scheduled for August 18.
The DMK responded sharply, framing the raids as politically motivated and timed to distract from what the party called the BJP’s own electoral misconduct.
“This is an attempt to divert attention from vote chori (theft),” said DMK organisation secretary R S Bharathi, invoking a phrase used by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to describe alleged fraud.
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In a formal statement, Bharathi said: “The BJP stands exposed for indulging in electoral fraud by using the Election Commission. The country is shocked over this. To divert attention from the illegal vote chori, the Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at premises linked to Periyasamy.”
Bharathi said the DMK “would neither fear the ED nor Modi,” and accused the BJP of weaponising state institutions: “The BJP was using empowered and autonomous bodies as its election instruments.”
While the ED has not disclosed the specific trigger for Saturday’s searches, the revival of the disproportionate assets case has heightened political tensions as Periyasamy remains an influential figure in the DMK.
The outcome of the Supreme Court hearing next week could determine whether the disproportionate assets case proceeds to trial again.
