The day income-tax authorities searched the homes and official chamber of Tamil Nadu chief secretary Rama Mohan Rao, the CBI arrested a contractor-sand miner who has been at the centre of the I-T crackdown so far. Sekhar Reddy, 49, has seen 14 of his premises raided since December 8. I-T officials claimed they have seized Rs 132 crore in currency notes including Rs 34 crore in Rs 2,000s, as well as 177 kg gold including 80 kg seized from a suite in a Chennai five-star hotel. “They had booked two such rooms for a long period. The bills, mostly in tranches of Rs 10 lakh, were paid by a firm owned by Reddy,” said an I-T officer.
It was to probe the sources of the currency that the CBI had stepped in, arresting Reddy and two of his associates Wednesday. Reddy’s high connections were in public focus even before the raids began, with vernacular media widely reporting his alleged wealth havens and transactions. Around the time the late J Jayalalithaa was released from Bangalore prison, a photo that went viral showed Reddy with present Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who had also stood in for Jayalalithaa during that period. Side by side, Reddy and OPS stood in front of the Tirupati temple. Reddy, part of the managing body Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, has since been removed. Reddy’s possible links to the chief secretary too are being probed.
It was to probe the sources of the currency that the CBI had stepped in, arresting Reddy and two of his associates Wednesday. Reddy’s high connections were in public focus even before the raids began, with vernacular media widely reporting his alleged wealth havens and transactions. Around the time the late J Jayalalithaa was released from Bangalore prison, a photo that went viral showed Reddy with present Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who had also stood in for Jayalalithaa during that period. Side by side, Reddy and OPS stood in front of the Tirupati temple. Reddy, part of the managing body Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, has since been removed. Reddy’s possible links to the chief secretary too are being probed.
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