2 days before poll, IT searches DMK candidate Kanimozhi’s house

Income Tax officials and the Election Commission’s static surveillance team on Tuesday carried out a joint search at the house of DMK Lok Sabha candidate K. Kanimozhi in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukodi on Tuesday, an official said.

Kanimozhi was present at the location and she cooperated with the team. IT department however found nothing substantial and the search was declared over.

“On the information shared by local administration, Income Tax Department searched premises related to DMK’s Kanimozhi in Thoothukudi. Verification is on. Kanimozhi was there and she cooperated with the team. The department found nothing,” reported news agency ANI quoting sources.

Kanimozhi, a Rajya Sabha member, is contesting against the BJP’s state unit chief Tamilisai Soundararajan in the Thootukodi Lok Sabha constituency.

The officials entered the Rajya Sabha member’s Kuringi Nagar residence in Tuticorin, a few hours after the campaign for the April 18 elections came to an end in Tamil Nadu.

Recently, Petitioner V Abdullah Sait of Ramanathapuram had urged the court to direct the EC to initiate action against Kanimozhi and Anand, contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Tuticorin and Vellore constituencies respectively, for violating the model code.

Sait alleged in his petition that Kanimozhi had been ‘clandestinely’ distributing cash to voters during campaigning and police have booked a case against DMK members in this regard.

However, the Madras High Court Tuesday dismissed the plea to prevent DMK’s candidates Kanimozhi and Kathir Anand from fighting the Lok Sabha polls for allegedly violating the model code conduct.