Too close for comfort : CBI raids stop short of DMK doorstep

A week after the CBI raided the premises of A Raja and his associates, the investigating agency on Wednesday spread its dragnet to pin down politically well- connected persons who are suspected to be the beneficiaries/ safe- keepers of a part of the illgotten wealth from the 2G scam.

Among those whose premises were raided included persons close to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s second wife Rajathi Ammal and her daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi. The CBI teams conducted extensive searches at the office of ‘Tamil Mayam’, a nongovernmental organisation founded by a broadcaster turned priest

Father Jegath Gasper Raj. Incidentally, Kanimozhi has been an active member on the NGO’s board of directors and promoted mega money- spinning events such as ‘Chennai Sangamam’ (Chennai Confluence).

Gasper Raj, the priest, is a known sympathiser of the LTTE and has in the past been accused of holding fund- raising events for the outlawed Tigers before they were decimated in the ethnic war in Sri Lanka.

Recently, after Raja had fallen from grace and forced out of the Union Cabinet, Gasper Raj, along with activists of the Dravidar Kazhagam and a few journalists, held a public meeting defending the former Minister and his questionable 2G spectrum allocation policy.

The meeting was held under the aegis of ‘Tamil Media Club,’ also founded by him. It is believed that the CBI suspects that part of the scam money has flown to the NGO in which several well- known public figures are board members. In political and media circles, the CBI raids on Gasper Raj’s premises are being seen as nothing short of a raid on Kanimozhi herself.

Just last Sunday there were rumours that the Enforcement Directorate was preparing to enter the CIT Colony residence of Chief Minister Karunanidhi, where Rajathi and

Kanimozhi live. Sleuths also searched the house and office of Rathinam, the auditor of Rajathi Ammal, Karunanidhi’s wife and Kanimozhi’s mother. Rathinam also figures in the infamous Radia tapes and was the go- between between Rajathi and Radia during the UPA- II Cabinet formation days.

Besides, a senior Tamil journalist Kamaraj, who is an associate editor with the investigative journal ‘ Nakkheeran’, has also come under the scanner. A separate team raided his house in posh Besant Nagar area. Kamaraj is known to have easy access to the Chief Minister and his family members. He was one of the beneficiaries in a recent land allotment scam in Tamil Nadu.

Incidentally, Kamaraj hails from Perambalur district, which is Raja’s native place. There were unconfirmed reports that Kamaraj’s wife held a senior position in Radia’s PR firm Vaishnavi Communications.