DVAC holds searches at 30 places linked to K.N. Nehru

Officials of Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) conducted simultaneous searches at 30 places linked to former Minister and DMK leader K.N. Nehru in Chennai, Tiruchi, Coimbatore, Erode, and Tiruppur on Saturday.

According to sources, the searches were held as part of an investigation into the alleged irregularities in contracts awarded by the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department between 2021 and 2025, when Mr. Nehru held the portfolio. In Chennai, Mr. Nehru’s residence in Mylapore and premises linked to him and his brother, Ravichandran, in Thiruvanmiyur, Adyar, Anna Nagar, and Raja Annamalaipuram were searched.

The DVAC officials seized 241 incriminating documents, besides electronic evidence, allegedly linked to irregularities in the tender process.

The investigation is continuing, the DVAC said.

Officials of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) conducted a search at the residence of former Municipal Administration Minister and DMK principal secretary K.N. Nehru at Tiruchi on Saturday.

In Tiruchi, searches were conducted at the residences of the Corporation’s former Chief Engineer Sivapatham at Shanmuga Nagar and Mr. Nehru’s former Personal Assistant Manikandan in Srirangam. The searches were conducted based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the DVAC Headquarters in Chennai against Mr. Nehru and 12 others regarding allegations of party fund collection from the tender awardees, sources from the investigating agency said.

A DVAC team led by a woman Deputy Superintendent of Police began the search at Former Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Tiruchi Mayor M. Anbazhagan and several DMK members were present during the search at Mr. Nehru’s residence at Thillai Nagar in Tiruchi around 8 a.m..The investigating agency has collected a few documents from the residence of Mr. Nehru and enquired him. The seven-hour-long search concluded at 3 p.m, the sources said.

After the seven-hour-long search concluded at 3 p.m., Mr. Nehru told reporters outside his residence that that the DVAC team had told him in the morning that there was some flaw in the tender based on which an FIR had been registered. Searches were also conducted at his residence in Chennai besides in the office of his brother, Mr. Nehru said and claimed that the team could not get anything. However, the team took a copy of a office file which he termed it as a “routine file”.

‘Extended full cooperation’

Mr. Nehru said he had extended full cooperation to the DVAC team during the search, which, he said, He alleged that he had not spoken to anyone regarding the tender issue and was innocent. This was a new case by the DVAC against him, he added.

Asked whether the searches were conducted by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government to intimidate him and also because of political vendetta, Mr. Nehru said it , he was surely an act of political vendetta by the TVK government. Replying to a question, Mr. Nehru He further said DMK president M.K. Stalin had spoken to him and asked him to extend cooperation for the search.

‘No political vendetta’

Dismissing the allegations of political retaliation, Minister for Energy Resources and Law C.T.R. Nirmalkumar said the DVAC searches at the residences of senior political figures were entirely procedure-driven, and that no individual possessed the authority to interfere in anti-corruption investigations. Firmly dismissing allegations of political retaliation, he said: “There is absolutely no political vendetta behind this. No one has the right to interfere in the functioning of the DVAC.”

In Coimbatore, the DVAC conducted searches at the residences of Mr. Nehru’s brothers Manivannan at Kallimadai and Ravichandran at Masakalipalayam. The residence of the Corporation’s retired Town Planning Officer, Sasi Priya, at Sivaram Nagar in Ramanathapuram was also searched.

A team led by DVAC Additional Superintendent of Police (ADSP) Rajesh, along with Inspector Arumugam and other personnel, commenced the searches around 7 a.m. The teams searched the premises and examined documents and other material that could be relevant to the allegations against the individuals, police sources said.