CHENNAI: Diamond jewellery and Swiss watches tumbled out of cupboards in unoccupied hostel rooms of a women’s college in Tiruvarur district as income tax searches continued on premises owned by convicted AIADMK leader V K Sasikala , her relatives and associates in various parts of Tamil Nadu for the second day on Friday, said I-T sources.

A senior I-T official said teams seized Rs 6 crore in cash, 8.5 kg gold worth Rs 2.4 crore and documents relating to investments worth Rs 1,200 crore, for which their owners could not provide any source of income.

They searched the hostel of Sengamala Thayaar Educational Trust Women’s College, owned by Sasikala’s brother V Dhivaharan at Sundarakottai in Mannargudi, the family’s native village, and seized several valuables that were hidden in unused hostel rooms, said sources. “They include diamond jewellery and Rolex watches. We are in the process of assessing their value,” said an official.

Officials said they grew suspicious when 12 protesters objected to their entry into the college. Their refrain was that I-T officials would plant valuables in the college to trap Dhivaharan.

The protesters were arrested on Friday. On Friday, searches concluded at 50 of the 188 premises I-T teams visited. 'Operation Clean Money’ is set to continue in most places including Sasikala’s Kodanad tea estate in the Nilgiris — which was partly owned by the late CM J Jayalalithaa — on Saturday. “Questioning of inmates is continuing in many places,” said the official. Many incriminating documents relating to shell firms were seized from the premises of Jaya TV MD and Sasikala’s nephew Vivek Jayaraman and his sister Krishna Priya.

Their mother Ilavarasi is convicted along with Sasikala in the wealth case. The officials copied several documents from laptops and desktops at Jayaraman’s and Priya’s residences . At Jayaraman’s father-inlaw Baskar’s residence in Anna Nagar, an argument broke out between Chitra, a relative of Baskar and I-T officials when they seized some gold ornaments.

She claimed the ornaments belonged to her and that they were kept at Baskar’s house because her house at Kolathur on the outskirts of the city was flooded. I-T officials said she could reclaim the valuables if she could produce documents to prove her claim.

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