Income Tax officials have conducted raids at the residence of actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi's a son-in-law in Chennai

Income Tax officials conducted raids at the residence of actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi's a son-in-law in Chennai.

I-T officials recovered cartons stuffed with Rs 35 crore in cash at the Chennai residence of businessman Vishnu Prasad, who is married to Chiranjeevi's daughter

Apparently Prased was under the scanner of the income tax department for a while and I-T sleuths carried out surprise raids on Friday and Saturday.

However, Chiranjeevi dismissed news reports linking him with the raids at the premises of his son-in-law and some of his distant relatives, saying they were aimed at "maligning" his image.

"I condemn such reports and declare categorically that I have no connection whatsoever with the IT raids. I appeal to all concerned to uphold good journalistic practices," he said in a statement.

He asserted that he was a regular tax payer and has a "blemishless" reputation. "I am also a recipient of the Samman Award given to meritorious tax payers by the Income Tax Department," he said.