Chennai: The officials of the Enforcement Directorate have conducted raids on the homes and offices of former Tamil Nadu minister R Vaithilingam in connection with a Rs 27 crore bribery case on Wednedsay. The anti-bribery police had filed a case against 11 individuals, including Vaithilingam and his two sons, alleging that they received bribes to facilitate the construction of an apartment complex near Perungalathur in Chennai.
தஞ்சை மாவட்டம் ஒரத்தநாடு அருகே உள்ள உறைந்தராயன் குடிகாட்டில் உள்ள
அதிமுக முன்னாள் அமைச்சர் வைத்திலிங்கத்தின் வீட்டில் அமலாக்கத்துறை அதிகாரிகள் சோதனை நடத்தி வருகிறார்கள்#Admk #EnforcementDirectorate #Vaithilingam pic.twitter.com/9PN1VAGvkG
— RAMJI (@RAMJIupdates) October 23, 2024
The controversy surrounds a 2013 application by Sriram Group to build a 1,453-unit apartment block, which was initially rejected by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation. However, permission was suddenly granted in 2016, sparking allegations that Vaithilingam, who was the minister at the time, received several crores of rupees in bribes.
ED conducts searches at AIADMK MLA Vaithilingam’s premises
According to sources, the bribes were transferred to a company where Vaithilingam’s sons are directors, disguised as loans. The raids, which began this morning, targeted Vaithilingam’s rooms in the Chennai MLA hostel, his house in Orathanadu, and other private properties.
Vaithilingam, a former senior minister in Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK cabinet, has recently been supporting O. Panneerselvam, the MLA of Orathanadu.
