Fake Claim About IT Raid On TTD Board Member's House Revived

FactCheck

BOOM had debunked the same video in December, 2021, when it was viral with the same claim. A keyword search on Twitter led us to a December 20, 2021 tweet by News 18 Tamil Nadu's input editor Mahalingam Ponnusamy with a video similar to the viral one. “Vellore district police arrested a burglar, who drilled hole into Vellore Joy Alukkas jewellery store wall, decamped with 15kg gold and diamond jewels." BOOM had then contacted Vellore's Additional Superintendent of Police (ADSP) KS Sundaramoorthy and Joint Superintendent of Police Albert John to get more details about the viral video. Sundaramoorthy confirmed that the claim with the viral video is false. "It is a theft case that took place in Vellore's Joy Alukkas showroom," he told BOOM in 2021. John reiterated the ADSP's statement and added that the stolen jewellery was recovered from a burial ground on December 21. Deccan Chronicle reported on December 9, 2016, that Rs 100 crore in cash and 120 kg of gold was seized during an Income Tax department raid on 'residences and offices owned by TTD Board member J. Sekhar Reddy, who is also a public works department contractor in Chennai and Vellore'.