Income Tax (IT) department officials have conducted raids in at least 50 locations related to popular real estate company G Square Realtors Private Limited in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on Monday, April 24. The raids come a week after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu state president K Annamalai released what he calls the 'DMK Files' that contained details of properties owned by DMK family members, Ministers, MLAs and MPs.
The searches began around 7 am in multiple offices of the company located in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Bengaluru, as well as at the residence of the company owner Ramajayam alias Bala. In addition, a chartered accountant from Anna Nagar and another close associate of the company owners have also come under the Income Tax scanner. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was deployed outside the premises where raids were being conducted.
G Square Realtors Private Limited has been accused by the opposition of having strong ties with the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), with its founder Bala being a close friend of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son-in-law Sabareesan. In 2021, just ahead of the 2021 Assembly elections, the company also came under IT scanner along with Sabareesan. Prior to that, the company was raided in 2019.
Responding to Annamalai’s allegations, the company released a statement saying that they were neither owned nor controlled by the DMK. “We hereby clarify that our company is neither owned nor controlled by ‘the 1st family of DMK’ and all the allegations to the contrary are purely false and baseless. However, it is unfortunate that such allegations have been raised by a person like yourself, who is holding a responsible position in a national political party. Further, the alleged valuation of our company’s assets is widely inaccurate and completely off track. The company’s assets and liabilities are matters of public record that are available with the Registrar of Companies, and the same would disprove your claim that the company has revenue holding of Rs. 38,827.70 Crores. Our company has been in business for many years, even before the DMK government came to power. You have released a video clipping titled “DMK files,” which contains certain remarks pertaining to ‘G Square’ that are patently false, misleading, and grossly defamatory,” the statement read.
In May 2022, a controversy broke out when Tamil magazine Junior Vikatan, and Tamil YouTubers Savukku Sankar and Maridhas were booked for extortion and intimidation by the Chennai police on the basis of a complaint filed by G Square Realtors. The complaint was filed after the magazine published an article alleging the company was receiving favours due to its proximity to those in DMK.
It is alleged that the revenue of the realtor company G Square increased multifold since 2019 because of their links with Tamil Nadu’s ruling party. G Square is one of the leading real estate companies in Tamil Nadu and is involved in several major projects in the state, including a proposed Rs. 3,000 crore integrated township project in Coimbatore. The company has also been linked to several prominent politicians, including former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala Natarajan.
The raids have come at a time when the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu has been facing criticism from the opposition BJP and the AIADMK over several issues, including the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the state. The DMK has denied any wrongdoing, and Chief Minister MK Stalin has said that the raids are politically motivated. The IT department has not yet released any official statement regarding the same.