Coimbatore police seize Rs 1 crore from state Cong VP, detain him for inquiry

COIMBATORE: The city police has seized Rs 1 crore from Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) vice-president R Radhakrishnan during a vehicle check on Mettupalayam road near Saibaba Colony here on Wednesday evening.
The seized bundles of currency were handed over to sleuths of the Income Tax department at night. Radhakrishnan, a supporter of former MP R Prabhu, told police that he was engaged in real estate business and was on his way home from Kavundampalayam after receiving money from a realtor.
He said he would submit the necessary documents to account for the money. However, income tax department officials seized the money and took him into custody for interrogation.
Police said, Radhakrishnan, 60, from Kondasamy Layout at Peelamedu in the city, was engaged in real estate business with his partner Arputharaj from Sowripalayam. The duo stopped working in partnership over a business dispute. Radhakrishnan told police that his partner owed him 2cr.
He was asked to meet Aruputharaj on Wednesday evening in Kavundampalayam to settle the matter. He was just returning home after the meeting when he was stopped by police, he added.
A team of police from Saibaba Colony police station was conducting vehicle checks on Mettupalayam Road when they stopped Radhakrishnan's car and found the money. He was taken to the police station for interrogation. Saibaba Colony police inspector Salairam Sakthivel notified income tax officials about the incident. Tax department officials Sridhar, Kumar and Muthuraman went to the police station and grilled Radhakrishnan.
Meanwhile, M V Vijayaragavan, a lawyer representing parents of Thiyagi N G Ramasamy higher secondary school, had come to the police station to notify officials that he had received a tipoff that Radhakrishnan was travelling with 3cr in his car.
Apparently, the money was paid to him by unidentified people to settle a school-related matter, he stated. Police officials are now investigating the whereabouts of the missing 2cr.