List of Income Tax raids on politicians in south India in the run up to elections

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, several high profile politicians and their business associates have been searched and raided by the Income Tax department.
The flurry of raids prompted several leaders including Chief Ministers Chandrababu Naidu and HD Kumaraswamy to point out that the raids are being done 'selectively' in order to affect the campaign of opposition leaders.

Here is a list of all the high profile I-T raids carried out in south India in the last few weeks.

Raids on opposition parties:

Karnataka

1. In a search that started before dawn, Income Tax officials carried out raids at the ancestral home of Karnataka Minor Irrigation Minister CS Puttaraju of the JD(S) on March 28. Raids were also conducted at the home of Puttaraju’s nephew Ashok located in Mysuru city’s Vijayanagar area. Ashok is a contractor for national and state highway works. The homes of PWD Minister HD Revanna's associates Ashwath Narayan Reddy and Raya Gowda were raided in Hassan on the same day. The sleuths also conducted raids on the Public Works Department office in Hassan.
2. On April 11, Income Tax officials raided the campaign office and other locations in Bengaluru connected to Rizwan Arshad, who is the Congress candidate from Bengaluru (Central) constituency. Most of the offices and buildings raided belonged to business persons close to him, and Rizwan called it an 'act of vendetta' against him. Although the I-T Department is yet to issue an official statement, sources have confirmed that the three persons who were raided are Kamal Pasha, Amanullah Khan, and Naeez Khan. These three businessmen are reportedly helping Rizwan with the entire campaigning process.
3. Searches were conducted on business persons in Bengaluru, Hassan, and Mandya over alleged tax evasion on April 15. The I-T Department conducted search and seizure operations at the homes of PWD Minister HD Revanna’s associates including former MLC Shivaram Patel, DCC bank President Honnavalli, Karle Indresh, and his relative Pappani in Hassan. I-T department sources said that the searches were conducted in the residences and factory premises of these associates. Revanna’s son Prajwal Revanna is contesting elections from Hassan.

Andhra Pradesh

1. On April 3, Income Tax officials conducted a raid at the residence of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Trust Board Chairman Putta Sudhakar Yadav, who was also the party’s MLA candidate for Mydukur. Yadav is also the chairman of PSK Infrastructures and Projects Limited, a noted construction firm.
2. On April 6, the houses of TDP MP CM Ramesh in Kadapa district were searched by 40 policemen. This was the second TDP leader to be searched in the run-up to the polls.
3. I-T officials conducted raids on different locations connected to TDP MP Galla Jayadev on April 11. The raid was focused on Gurrappa Naidu, chief accountant working with Amara Raja Batteries, a company owned by Jayadev. The TDP MP alleged that he was targeted for being a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tamil Nadu

1. Following a search at the residence of DMK Treasurer Duraimurugan, bundles of currency notes were seized from a cement godown in Vellore in a raid by Income Tax officials on April 1. The godown belonged to local DMK functionary Poonjolai Srinivasan. Polling in the constituency has been countermanded and an FIR has been registered against Srinivasan, Damodaran who is believed to be the owner of the godown, and Kathir Anand, who was also the DMK’s candidate for the Lok Sabha from the constituency.
2. Unaccounted cash worth nearly Rs 1.48 crore was recovered from RK Nagar MLA TTV Dhinakaran’s Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) office in Theni district, Tamil Nadu on April 16. Income Tax officials discovered 94 packets and envelopes of cash with ward numbers and voter lists. Rs 300 had allegedly been set aside per voter.
3. Income Tax sleuths searched the residence of DMK's Thoothukudi candidate Kanimozhi on the night of April 16. After almost two hours of search operations, the I-T officials returned empty-handed from the DMK leader's residence.

Raids on BJP and its allies

1. In Karnataka, I-T officials recovered nearly Rs 1 crore in cash in a raid of the house and vehicle of BJP functionaries in Uttara Kannada district on April 15. The car of Krishna Rama Devadiga, Uttara Kannada BJP General Secretary, was raided along with the house of Ramakant Hegde, a local BJP leader. In all, over Rs 80 lakh was seized in the raids.