ED searches sand businessman’s house in city

Chennai: Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths on Wednesday conducted surprise searches in sand businessman Panneerselvam Karikalan's house in the city, said sources.
A team of ED sleuths reached Karikalan’s house in West CIT Nagar in the afternoon and carried out searches. The searches went on till evening.
The ED did not disclose the reason for the searches. But it may be recalled that the agency had attached 206 excavators worth ₹128 crore and ₹2.5 crore in cash from different bank accounts linked to mining barons and businessmen Shanmugam Ramachandran, Karuppaiah Rethinam and Pannerselvam Karikalan.
The ED initiated investigations based on various FIRs filed in Tamil Nadu on widespread unauthorized sand mining on the riverbeds and in river basins.
Earlier, it conducted searches in 17 locations in Chennai, Trichy and Pudukottai.
Consequently, unreported cash amounting to ₹2.33 crore, gold jewellery valued at ₹56.86 lakh and numerous other incriminating evidence were seized.
Thirty bank accounts with a cumulative balance of approximately ₹13 crore were frozen.