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DVAC names 2 former ministers in charge sheet in DA case
The two leaders and several accused from their family and friends have been charged with amassing disproportionate assets worth several thousand crores
Chennai: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) filed a charge sheet against former AIADMK ministers for health C Vijayabhaskar and higher education K P Anbalagan in connection with the disproportionate assets case (Check) on Monday, the agency said.
The two ministers and several accused from their family and friends have been charged with amassing disproportionate assets worth several thousand crores.
This is the first time a charge sheet has been filed against the opposition after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) formed the government in May 2021.
Besides the two who have been charge-sheeted, the agency has registered cases against former ministers SP Velumani (three cases), MR Vijayabhaskar, P Thangamani, R Kamaraj and former MLA KPP Baskar.
DVAC filed a 150-page charge sheet against Anbalagan, a sitting MLA from the Palacode assembly constituency, at the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Dharmapuri, said an official not wishing to be named.
“The supporting documents with evidence run for 10,000 pages. Our main finding is that Anbalagan has bought quarries for mining in the name of his son, son-in-law and son-in-law’s brothers, which he has routed through a trust,” the official said.
When DVAC (check) registered a case against Anbalagan in January 2022, the assets were pegged at ₹113,295,755 ( ₹11.32 crore) disproportionate to his known sources of income. But, after investigation, it has gone up to ₹452,053,363 ( ₹45.20 crore), the agency said.
Anbalagan’s wife, A Malliga, and two sons, A Sasimohan and A Chandramohanm, a trust- Saraswathi Pachiappan Educational and Charitable Trust are among the 11 accused in the case registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
“During the investigation, searches were conducted in 58 places, and certain incriminating materials were seized,” the DVAC said. “The investigation disclosed that K P Anbalagan had acquired assets in the form of buildings, bank balances, business investments, landed properties, machinery, ornaments and vehicles in his name and the name of his above family members and circulating the ill-gotten money in the trust by the name “Saraswathi Pachiappan Educational and Charitable Trust” all to the extent of ₹452,053,363 with the active aid of his close relatives namely P Ravisankar, P Saravanan and R Saravanakumar and close associates namely Tr C Manickam, M Malliga and SS Dhanapal, which is disproportionate to his known sources of income for which he could not account satisfactorily.”
DVAC also filed a chargesheet running more than 210 pages against another AIADMK heavyweight Vijayabhaskar, a sitting MLA from the Viralimalai assembly constituency.
The charge sheet was filed in the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Pudukkottai.
DVAC (check) filed a case against the former health minister and his wife, V Ramya, in October 2021. His disproportionate assets were initially pegged at ₹272,253,736 ( ₹27.22 crore), but after the DVAC conducted a probe in 56 places, their revised estimate is ₹357,990,081 ( ₹35.79 crore), the agency said.
“The investigation disclosed that Dr C Vijaybaskar had acquired assets in the form of bank balances, business investments through Rasi Blue Metal, Rasi Enterprises, V Infrastructure etc., landed properties, machinery, ornaments and vehicles in his name and the name of his wife V Ramya all to the extent of ₹35,79,90,081/- which are disproportionate to their known sources of income for which they could not account satisfactorily,” the DVAC said in a statement.
The DMK had promised in its 2021 election manifesto to establish a special court to try graft charges against All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) ministers from the previous regime. Soon after the DMK formed the government, the DVAC went on an offensive, cracking down on these former ministers.
The two chargesheets were filed after the DVAC obtained a necessary sanction for prosecution from Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker M Appavu.
