Chennai: In the case involving the fraud of land worth Rs. 25 crore belonging to popular Tamil film actress Gautami, officials questioned her for about 2 hours at the Enforcement Directorate office.
Actress Gautami had filed a complaint in 2023 at the Central Crime Branch at the Chennai Police Commissioner’s Office.
In it, she alleged that her family friend Alagappan from Velachery had cheated her by concealing the true value of 46 acres of land worth Rs. 25 crore that belonged to her in Sriperumbudur and getting it sold for Rs. 6 crore.
Furthermore, he stated in the complaint that, knowing she was in a compelled situation of having to sell the land for cancer treatment and for his daughter’s future expenses, he took advantage of it and engaged in fraud by abusing her trust.
Based on this complaint, the Central Crime Branch police registered a case and conducted an investigation. After a long search, the absconding Al
appan and his family were arrested in Thrissur, Kerala state.
Following the suspicion that illegal money transfers may have taken place in this case, the Enforcement Directorate also separately registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and began an investigation.
Searches at 6 locations
In connection with this case, on the 17th of last month, Enforcement Directorate officials conducted simultaneous searches at 6 locations belonging to Alagappan. It is said that various property documents, records related to financial transactions, and important documents were seized then.
The Enforcement Directorate issued a summons to actress Gautami to obtain an explanation based on those documents. Accordingly, she appeared yesterday at the Enforcement Directorate office in Nungambakkam, Chennai.
At that time, officials questioned her for about two hours regarding the documents already seized, property transaction details, money transfers, and the background of the case.
It has been reported that several important pieces of information were obtained during this inquiry, which will help in the next stage of the investigation into the case.
No comment
After the investigation ended and actress Gautami came out of the Enforcement Department office, when reporters asked for her comments, she said only, “Since the case is under investigation, I cannot say anything right now; I will speak later,” and left the place.
Based on the evidence being collected by the Enforcement Department in this case, officials say that further questioning may also be conducted with a few more people. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that Gautami had already been questioned in connection with this case.
