In the first major crackdown after the TVK came to power, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) launched simultaneous searches on the premises of former State Highways Minister E.V. Velu, officials, and contractors in connection with an alleged corruption case.

Acting on a 2022 complaint lodged by Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam, an NGO fighting corruption in Tamil Nadu, the agency booked Mr. Velu, several officials of the Highways Department, and a highways contractor on charges of criminal conspiracy, forgery, and cheating, and invoked provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The case was registered after the State government accorded permission on June 23, 2026.

What are the allegations?

The allegation is that several crores of rupees had been paid to contractors in various divisions of the State Highways Department in March 2022 for works which were not executed until then. This happened with the collusion of officials of the State Highways Department and a select set of highways contractors. The complainant alleged there was rampant corruption and mismanagement of funds allocated under the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme.

In Tiruppur circle, of the sanctioned amount of ₹4.19 crore for widening and improvement of roads, ₹3.23 crore was paid without any work actually being done. After former AIADMK Minister M.R.Vijayabhaskar gave a complaint on April 5, 2022, four officials were suspended. The action was said to have been taken on the basis of a report of the Superintending Engineer that the payment was made without laying the road. 

However, instead of proceeding with criminal action for the offence, Mr. Venkatesan alleged that a battalion of policemen was brought in as bandobast for the contractor to lay the roads on the night of April 8, 2022. “The Karur police, instead of acting on the criminals, are said to have provided security to them to lay roads without any disturbance. This is a gross attempt towards erasing evidence of criminal acts committed by the officials of State Highways Department and contractor Sankaranand Infra with respect to the swindling of exchequer’s money,” the complainant said.

Arappor Iyakkam pointed to similar offences in other parts of the State and gave evidence to substantiate the same. The NGO demanded that a case be registered against all those concerned under relevant provisions of law, and suitable action be taken.

The DVAC, in its FIR, said prima facie materials in the petition revealed the accused persons had entered into a criminal conspiracy with a dishonest intention to cheat the government. 

Besides Mr. Velu, the agency named nine officials of the Highways Department who worked in Karur, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, and Chennai, and Sankaran Infra, the highways contractor. Searches were being conducted on the premises of the accused persons initially in Karur, Erode, and Kancheepuram districts.

Velu will prove innocence: Stalin

DMK president and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said that Mr. Velu would extend full cooperation to the DVAC raid, adding that charges had never been proven in a single case filed out of political vendetta.

In a post on X, he stated: “Mr. E.V. Velu is extending his full cooperation to the raid conducted by the DVAC. He will face it legally and prove his innocence in court. History shows that when driven by a political vendetta, not a single charge has ever been proven in any case filed so far alleging corruption during the DMK regime. The DMK is not a movement that will be cowed by these threats from the ruling party. We have seen much greater oppression than this. We will face this too and emerge victorious.”