Five days after the first round of raids at the properties connected to former ADMK Minister P Thangamani under the grounds of amassing more wealth, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has on Monday shocked the former minister by conducting the second round of searches at the places linked to Thangamani, who served as the Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity and Excise in the previous ADMK regime led by Edappadi Palaniswami. The searches have been conducted after a disproportionate assets case is registered against him. 

According to reports, the DVAC sleuths have been conducting searches at 14 places on Monday- December 20 that are connected to P Thangamani. The searches are being conducted in ten places in Namakkal, three places in Erode, and one in Salem and all these places belong to Thangamani's relatives and associates. As searches are being conducted, it is expected that the DVAC will unveil an official statement concerning the raids on Monday evening. 

Several ADMK cadres had gathered at the former minister's residence and at the places that are raided and held protests against what the ADMK has claimed as ruling DMK's vendetta politics. On December 15, several teams of DVAC had held searches at the properties connected to Thangamani in various districts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The searches were conducted at 69 places and exhumed the pile of wealth amassed by the former minister in the form of fake business and crypto investments. 

On December 14, DVAC had filed an FIR against Thangamani and his family for amassing disproportionate income worth over Rs 4.85 crore between 2016 and 2020, while he was serving as the minister. The FIR has highlighted that Thangamani had savings of about Rs 2.60 crore between May 23, 2016, and March 31, 2020, and based on his savings, the DVAC noted that the financial resources and properties that were acquired by him, his wife, and his son should not have exceeded Rs 2,60,08,282. 

However, he has acquired assets worth Rs 4,85,72,019 in excess, out of his total income, which has been termed disproportionate to the known sources of income. The DVAC has said that there was credible information that Thangamani's family had invested huge amounts in cryptocurrencies, the accusation that was later denied by the former minister by maintaining that he doesn't even know what cryptocurrency is. The FIR has further said that Thangamani's son Dharanidharan had shown huge business under the name of Murugan Eaarth Movers. However, it has come to the revelation that it was a fake business as Murugan Eaarth Movers was only on paper and no actual business was carried out. 

The FIR was filed against Thangamani, his wife, and his son on Tuesday under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Thangamani is currently an MLA from the Kumarapalayam constituency and he is the fifth former ADMK Minister to face raids from DVAC after MR Vijayabhaskar, SP Velumani, KC Veeramani, and C Vijayabaskar. He has now become the first former ADMK Minister to face raids for the second time in five days. Earlier, ADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and Edappadi Palaniswami had condemned the searches and claimed that the raids were DMK's political vendetta.