Chennai, April 9 (IANS): The Income Tax Department on Tuesday seized Rs 32 crore from a hatchery in Tamil Nadu’s Pollachi area, which is owned by brothers Arul Murugan and Saravana Murugan in Coimbatore district.

The hatchery, which has branches across Tamil Nadu, also sends fodder for hatcheries to other states as well.

Sources in the Income Tax Department told IANS that the cash was seized during raids and searches conducted since Monday night that extended till Tuesday afternoon.

The Income Tax Department has informed the Election Commission about the seizure, and it has to be seen if the money was intended for distribution ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

To recall, on Saturday night, Rs 4 crore was seized from three passengers in an AC coach of Nelli Express bound for Tirunelveli from Tambaram.

On Monday, Rs 7.5 lakh was seized from the residence of a person named Natarajan, who is a close relative of Tamil Nadu Minister for Water Resources, S. Duraimurugan. Duraimurugan’s son Kathir Anand is the INDIA bloc candidate from Vellore.

On Tuesday, Rs 74.5 lakh was seized from a car in Vellore.