Chennai: After searching his home for around 13 hours, Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi was taken by the sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to their Chennai office for questioning in connection with a 2012 illegal mining case.
The ED carried out a raid on the Chennai premises of Ponmudi, and his son on Monday. According to reports, the raid was conducted in connection with money laundering charges levelled against the minister. This marks the second such instance in recent times where a DMK leader has come under the scrutiny of the ED.
Soon after the raid, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin reacted strongly against the agency's move hinting at it as 'vendetta politics.' "People are watching all these raids and they know the purpose behind it," Stalin said.
Previously, Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthil Balaji was arrested by the ED following raids conducted at his properties. In a separate case earlier this month, Ponmudi was acquitted in a land-grabbing case in which he was accused along with six others. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) had registered the case against him, alleging that he illegally acquired government land in Saidapet, Chennai during his tenure as a Minister from 1996 to 2001 under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party.
During Ponmudi's tenure as the Minister of Mines, allegations were made in 2007 and 2011 that he misused his position and illegally extracted 264,644 loads of red sand in Villupuram, violating quarry conditions. The Villupuram District Crime Branch Police filed a case against Minister Ponmudi, his son Gautham Sigamani, cousin Jayachandran, and others for causing a loss of over 28 crore rupees to the government.
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As a result, in 2012, the Villupuram District Crime Branch Police arrested three individuals, including Minister Ponmudi and Jayachandran. While the case is currently being heard in a special court that deals with cases against Villupuram Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), Ponmudi's son Gautham Chikamani, who is also implicated in the case, filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking a stay on the trial and the dismissal of the case.
However, the Madras High Court declined to grant the requested order. In 2020, Gautham Sigamani, the son of Ponmudi, came under the scrutiny of the ED after the investigating agency attached properties worth 8.6 crore rupees belonging to him. He was accused of illegally acquiring assets and failing to repatriate foreign exchange earned abroad.
The attached properties included agricultural lands, commercial and residential buildings in Tamil Nadu, as well as bank accounts and shares, totaling 8.6 crore rupees. It is noteworthy that Gautham Sigamani is also an MP representing the Kallakurichi constituency.
