Home » Tamil Nadu » It Department Freezes Rs15 Crore Assets Of Sasikala Under Benami Prohibition Act

Tamil Nadu: I-T Department freezes ₹15-crore assets of Sasikala

The Benami Prohibition wing of the department froze the assets because Sasikala apparently purchased it as "benami".

Published Jul 01, 2022 | 4:30 PM ⚊UpdatedJul 22, 2022 | 3:45 PM

I-T Department and other central agencies are active in Telangana these days. (Supplied)

The Income Tax Department on Friday, 1 July, froze assets worth ₹15 crore owned by VK Sasikala — a close aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa — under the Benami Prohibition Act.

The Benami Prohibition wing of the department froze the assets because Sasikala apparently purchased a property called Anjaneyar Printers in Padmanabha Street, T Nagar, in Chennai as “benami”.

This means the property is registered in someone else’s name.

One of the sources from the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), and a close aide of Sasikala’s nephew and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran, told South First that the sleuths froze the assets after the Supreme Court confirmed that the Dhinakaran had bought the property.

The Benami Prohibition wing of the I-T Department is likely to stick notices outside the property in this regard.

Sasikala announced her decision to step aside from active politics in February last year.

However, after the state Assembly election results saw the AIADMK lose power after 20 years, she continued to be in touch with AIADMK party cadres and supporters over the phone, showing signs of returning to politics.

South First has already reported that Sasikala is touring the state, looking to reclaim her position in the party to bring it to power in the next election.

Previous raids

VK Sasikala and her two relatives, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran, were raided by the I-T Department in a disproportionate assets case in 2017, which resulted in a four-year prison sentence for her.

Sasikala got out of Central Jail, Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru in January last year.

So far, the Income Tax Department has attached more than 65 properties belonging to the Sasikala.

Former chief ministers and AIADMK leaders Edappadi Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam expelled Sasikala from the party during the general council meeting held in 2017, nine months after she was appointed its interim general secretary in 2016.