Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman rejects political motive behind I-T raids, says officials did their duty

Chennai: Jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala’s nephew and head of Jaya TV Vivek Jayaraman on Tuesday said the Income Tax (I-T) raids at properties linked to their family members and associates “don’t seem” to be politically motivated. Jaya TV office was one among the many locations where I-T sleuths had conducted searches since last Thursday, which ended on Monday. After five-day-long multi-city searches, I-T department sleuths had detected undisclosed income of Rs 1,430 crore in respect of 10 assessee groups which included those linked to Sasikala, her kin and their associates. [caption id=“attachment_4209333” align=“alignleft” width=“385”]  File image of AIADMK leader Sasikala. PTI[/caption] Meanwhile, police said I-T officials were on Tuesday verifying documents at the Green Tea Estate at Curzon in Nilgiris district. The estate is said to be purchased by late chief minister Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala some five years ago. Jayaraman told reporters that I-T sleuths posed various questions about companies headed by him, including Jazz Cinemas, besides seeking accounts for the jewels worn by his wife during their wedding. He said it was explained “in detail” to them. When asked if the raids were politically motivated, Jayaraman said “it doesn’t seem so”. “They (taxmen) have done their duty and we are answerable (to them).. Every citizen of the country has to pay income tax.. I am clear about that,” he said. It was the “duty” of a citizen to pay taxes and anyone found violating the law was “liable” to face action, Jayaraman said. On details of seizures made during the raids, he said the sleuths queried about documents on “general accounts”. “There were documents in the companies, general documents, about general accounts. So the questions were raised about these documents. “We are into movies, distribution of movies, so they asked questions about agreements concerning them. We have answered them clearly,” he said. Asserting that he would present accounts of his wife’s jewels, Jayaraman said, “We are ready to answer whatever queries posed by I-T officials in the future”. In an apparent reference to the searches, he said, “Let’s not hype what’s not true.” Tax authorities had on Monday summoned Jayaraman, head of Jaya TV (Mavis Satcom Limited), for questioning following conclusion of searches at the premises of the channel.