The Income Tax (IT) department on Tuesday said it has filed a complaint with the police and the Election Commission against K. Selvaperunthagai, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president, for allegedly spreading false information and making defamatory allegations against the administration. In a press statement, the I-T department denied conducting any searches at Selvaperunthagai’s residence or detaining him. She explained that his claims of being detained by IT officials during the search operation – allegedly preventing him from campaigning – were untrue.
Selvaperunthagai told HT that he has the proof of the searches conducted by the department and will hold a press conference soon.
The I-T Department said in a statement – The Income Tax Department has been informed that a post dated 20.04.2026 was made on social media platform He repeated the aforementioned allegations again during his interactions with the media on the same day. In addition, some sections of the media also reported that the residence of Shri K. Selvaperunthagai in Kilpauk, Chennai has been subjected to inspection by the Income Tax Department.
The administration launched an investigation to verify the commander’s allegations. “The allegations made are absolutely baseless and factually incorrect. It is clarified that no search, survey or any form of enforcement action has been undertaken by the Income Tax Department against Shri K. Selvaperunthagai on 20.04.2026 or on any date in the recent past. Moreover, no action has been taken at all that would restrict his movement. It is also clarified that no premises, including his residence at Kilpauk, Chennai, have been covered under any Law”. The statement said: “Income tax procedures are as stated in the reports.”
According to the ministry, “limited verification exercises” were conducted in parts of Sriperumbudur based on specific intelligence inputs regarding suspected movement of unaccounted funds. But she stressed that these exercises are not related to Selvapirunthagai in any way.
Responding to the I-T department’s allegations, Selvaperunthagai said: “I have all the evidence in the form of video footage along with the faces of those who conducted the searches. I will release it to the press once the polls are over. I will hold a press conference.”
Meanwhile, in West Bengal, the I-T department pointed out discrepancies in the assets declaration of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Debashis Kumar following search and seizure operations conducted on April 17, officials familiar with the developments said. Although notice has been sent to the TMC legislator, the IT department has also submitted a detailed report to the Election Commission, the officials added.
“There were inconsistencies in the details provided in the election affidavit and what was recovered during the searches. Some valuables, including diamond jewelery and bullion, were not disclosed in the affidavit,” an official said. A large discrepancy was also observed in the amount of gold declared versus what was found.”
The MLA denied the allegations and said the IT department had not contacted him. “As soon as they write to me officially, I will respond. I have not received any communication yet,” he said.
People familiar with the matter said the searches conducted at premises linked to Kumar and his associates on April 17 were based on allegations of generating and processing unaccounted income. During the operation, officials confiscated diamond jewelry, gold, and bullion valued at approximately $1.75 Crores. In addition, $6 lakh cash was recovered from a business entity of which MLA is a partner.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there are discrepancies between the assets declared in Kumar’s election certificate and those discovered during searches,” the official said.
In a related development, the authorities also searched the residence of Kumar’s aide. During this inspection, they found that 8.08 kg of gold bullion previously seized bore foreign fingerprints, raising suspicions about possible customs law violations. The IT department referred the matter to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for further examination
