The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Friday registered a case against former Namakkal MLA K.P.P Baskar and his wife Uma on charges of amassing wealth to the tune of over ₹4.72 crore, which was disproportionate to their known sources of income, during the period from April 28, 2016 to March 15, 2021.
Mr. Baskar was a two-time MLA (2011 to 2021), and is considered close to former Chief Minister and AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
In the FIR, the DVAC said Mr. Baskar amassed ₹4,72,23,539 in his name and in the name of his wife, which was disproportionate to their known sources of income and constituted 315% of the total income for the said period.
On Friday, DVAC sleuths launched searches at 28 properties in Namakkal, including Mr. Baskar’s residence, and one location each in Madurai and Tiruppur districts linked to him.
In a statement, the DVAC said it found ₹26.52 lakh in cash, foreign currencies valued at ₹1.20 lakh, four luxury cars, 1.68 kg of gold jewellery, 6.62 kg of silver ornaments, property documents, promissory notes, bank account documents, important information stored in computers, and investments in crypto currencies worth ₹20 lakh. Of these, ₹14.96 lakh in cash and 214 documents related to the case were seized.
At the beginning of the check period (April 2016), ₹1.86 crore was in the possession of pecuniary resources and properties of Mr. Baskar. At the end of the check period (March 2021), the figure was ₹7.47 crore in the form of cash, jewellery, vehicles, lands, investments, etc. The lawful income of Mr. Baskar and his family members was ₹1.49 crore; their expenses were ₹61.15 lakh; and their likely savings were ₹88.62 lakh. But the former MLA and his family members acquired assets to the tune of ₹5.60 crore, the DVAC said.
The DVAC registered a case against Mr. Baskar and his wife Uma under sections 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 109 of IPC r/w section 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act for the period from April 28, 2016 to July 25, 2018.
For the period from July 26, 2018 to March 15, 2021 case registered under section 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as amended in 2018 and Section 12 r/w 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (b) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as amended in 2018.
Meanwhile, in a social media post, Mr. Palaniswami termed the DVAC searches “well-planned political vendetta” and condemned such acts of “political animosity”.
During the search operation, former Minister P. Thangamani and AIADMK cadre gathered outside Mr. Baskar’s residence in a show of support for him.
