The Income-Tax Department Wednesday raided close to 28 premises belonging to Paul Dhinakaran’s missionary ‘Jesus Calls’ for alleged tax evasion and foreign fund mismanagement. The IT officers conducted searches in ‘Jesus Calls’ head office in Chennai, Dhinakaran’s residence, and in the Karunya Institute of Technology (deemed) located in Coimbatore. Other prayer towers located across the state are under the radar. The search operation is expected to continue for a couple of days.
‘Jesus Calls’ was founded by late DGS Dhinakaran in 1962 and is now run by popular tele evangelist Paul Dhinakaran and his family. According to their website, Jesus Calls gives sermons on Christianity in Tamil Nadu. The Jesus Calls TV ministry, telecasts 400 programs a month, in 10 different languages across the globe, containing real life stories from people who have overcome their troubles through faith and prayer along with hope." Paul Dhinakaran is also chancellor of Karunya Institute of Technology in India, "founded in 1986 where 8000 students study Science and Technology, Engineering, Arts, Media, and Management courses".