S. P. Velumani
Sugunapuram Palanisamy Velumani, born 10 May 1969, is an Indian politician and current Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from Thondamuthur Assembly constituency. He belongs to the Gounder community.
Political career
He is a prominent politician of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He has won the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections in 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021 as an All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate. He was previously the Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development, Law and Implementation of Special Programme.In March 2022 the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption launched an investigation into a case of disproportionate assets against Velumani. In the same month DVAC carried out searches at 59 locations belonging to Velumani and his family members, discovering 11 kilograms of gold and documents related to various cryptocurrencies.
He is currently serving as the Headquarters Secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam from 13 July 2022.
In September 2022, DVAC booked a criminal case against Velumani and his associates in connection with an Rs 500 crore irregularity found during the purchase of LED street lights. The case accused Velumani of misusing his authority by favoring his close associates in awarding tenders, resulting in financial losses for the government between 2015 and 2018. The case was later quashed by the Madras High Court following a petition filed for relief being accepted.