more-in The Income Tax Department searched the offices and properties belonging to the SPK Group of Companies — one of the major road contractors in Tamil Nadu — in Chennai, Madurai and Aruppukottai on Monday. Properties belonging to the group’s director Nagarajan Seyyadurai and his family members were also searched during the operation which will continue on Tuesday. While the sources claimed that ?150 crore — including ?50 crore from two vehicles — and about 100 kg of gold were seized from the premises of the suspect companies or its partners, senior income tax officials parried questions on the seizures. Sources said the I-T officials received a specific input pertaining to alleged tax evasion which triggered simultaneous search operations in over 40 locations. Preliminary information shared by sources in the I-T Department revealed that officials seized a huge quantity of cash, documents relating to immovable assets across the State, gold bars and storage devices from the premises of the company, which is also into the hospitality business. A senior Income Tax official, who led the investigating team, said that the operations were still on and would continue on Tuesday. “We searched all the business houses of the group, including SPK Spinnerrs Private Ltd (the company is into textiles, spinning and weaving), SPK Hotels, Sri Balaji Tollways Private Ltd and SPK and Co Exprressway Private Ltd,” he said. Sources claimed that the firm had nexus with political bigwigs in the ruling AIADMK. Based on the documents seized and intelligence information, investigators also searched the premises of a construction major based in Tiruchi and a textile businessman in Chennai. The searches come days after the I-T Department conducted searches on the premises of Christy Friedgram Pvt Ltd, a company which is a major supplier of food grains and eggs to the nutritious meal programme of the Tamil Nadu government that benefits lakhs of poor children. Huge cash and several documents relating to immovable properties acquired across the State were said to have been seized in that operation though the department did not come out with any formal communication in that regard.

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