Chennai, June 10 (IANS): A 450-member team of the Income Tax (IT) department on Wednesday started search operations at various offices of the Chettinad group of companies in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, a senior official said.

The official told IANS that the search operation is due to suspected tax evasion by the companies of Chettinad group.

The searches are on at 40 locations in the three states. "The reason for the raid is suspected evasion of taxes," a department official told IANS.

The Chettinad group has interests in cement, logistics, education, health care, coal terminal and others.

According to IT department officials, the search operations began in the morning.

Officials said the search is not connected with the on-going family feud between M.A.M. Ramaswamy, the former chairman of the Chettinad group and his adopted son M.A.M.R. Muthiah.

Muthiah now heads the Chettinad group of companies.

Last year, Ramaswamy was ousted as the director of Chettinad Cement and consequently lost the chairman's post.

Interestingly the IT searches comes a day after M.A.M. Ramaswamy, the former chairman and director of Chettinad Cement, alleged that the company owes the government huge sums in sales tax dues.

"The government has told the company to pay up a minimum of around Rs.252 crore before negotiations can take place," Ramaswamy said at a press conference called to disown his adopted son M.A.M.R. Muthiah, the managing director of the group.

Asked for clarifications, Muthiah has told IANS: "The company does not owe any sales tax dues to the government. The company pays its dues every month."

"Ramaswamy is an outsider to the company. He is not associated with the company in any capacity now. One should not take an outsider's charges seriously and ask for clarifications," he said.

On Tuesday, Ramaswamy disowning his adopted son declared that Muthiah should not perform any ceremonies or obsequies on his demise.

A source close to Ramaswamy told IANS that IT officials had visited Ramaswamy's residence and sought some documents. "Sir (Ramaswamy) told his staff to cooperate and give the documents needed," he told IANS.

He also said a first information report (FIR) has been lodged at the Foreshore Estate police station here against Muthiah and 40 others on charges of assaulting workers of Ramaswamy and murder threat.

A police official told IANS that the FIR has been lodged against Muthiah and 40 others on charges of assault and murder threat.

A source close to Ramaswamy told IANS that the FIR was registered on June 8 on a complaint lodged on May 24.

On Tuesday, Ramaswamy said the security personnel posted by Muthiah entered his premises and picked up quarrel with his servants.

Ramaswamy said Muthiah who had flown down from Singapore on that night commanded his security men to attack his servants. A servant by name Lakshmanan sustained grievous injury on his head, Ramaswamy said.