There have been so many IT raids in Tamil Nadu recently, that one wouldn’t be surprised if a posse of IT officials landed up at their doorstep, especially if they’re connected to politics in some way. Early morning on Saturday, Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa Jayakumar and her family must have felt similarly, when a man landed up at their home in Chennai, claiming they were being subject to an IT raid.

He had an ID card and warrants. He claimed his team was on its way, and he had just come beforehand to ensure no one ‘escaped’. Deepa was not at the T Nagar residence when the ‘IT officer’ arrived.

"He showed the identity card and the search warrant to us. We believed it was true and allowed him," Sami Chinnapillai, advocate of MGR Amma Deepa Peravai (Forum) told reporters.

But something was off about this man, who went by ‘Mitesh Kumar’. Perhaps it was the ‘mole on the nack’ on his ID card, or the fact that he was there alone. His story did not add up, and the police were called in.

“When the advocate called the police, and the police came in, they were questioning him. They’re now saying that he escaped while he was being questioned,” said Madhavan, Deepa’s husband. He added that he had ‘no suspicion’ that he was a fake IT officer until the police arrived after being informed by their advocate.

According to reports, the man managed to jump the back wall of the house and escaped right under the police officials’ nose.

So who is the conman? And how did he manage to escape? The Chennai police have formed a special team to nab Mitesh Kumar. However, according to reports, they’re also investigating whether he could have been ‘set up’ by Deepa and/or her husband.

A police source told TNIE: “We are also inquiring whether Madhavan and Deepa had a hand in the whole incident.” Deepa’s absence, Madhavan’s insistence that he wasn’t suspicious about the man, and the fact that all CCTV cameras were facing the walls in the house have reportedly raised the police’s suspicion.