ED presses for FIR against DMK minister KN Nehru in one more scam to launch probe

Already under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), senior Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK veteran KN Nehru is once again facing the central agency’s heat in yet another alleged Rs 1,020 crore scam pertaining to tender manipulation in the Municipal and Water Administration (MWAS) Department.

The ED has sought registration of an FIR in the scam relating to the rigging of tender allotment to contractors so that it can launch a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to the agency, the evidence on hand is only a tip of the iceberg and requires further probe. Coming months ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, this could provide the opposition a stick to beat the DMK government of MK Stalin.

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In a 258-page dossier sent in the first week of December to the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and Director General of Police as well as the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, the agency has pressed for filing an FIR to investigate the matter. For rigging and manipulation of tender allotment, it has cited digital evidence secured during the searches conducted on the premises of Nehru, holding the MWAS portfolio, his family members, and close associates in April this year.

What is of significance is that this is the second missive from the ED exposing a new scam under the watch of Nehru, DMK strongman in Trichy district. In October this year, the ED had written to the state government to register an FIR with regard to the cash-for-job scam in which Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh in bribes had been collected from aspirants for the posts of Assistant Engineers, Junior Engineers, and Town Planning Officers. The agency had claimed that the total amount of the bribe was nearly Rs 900 crore. Interestingly, this revelation had come shortly after Chief Minister MK Stalin handed over appointment letters to the successful candidates who had cleared the examination and screening process conducted by Anna University and not by the TN Public Service Commission.

Now, the ED alleges that contractors who secured tender allotment by manipulation and executing works like community toilets, sweeper quarters, village roads, NABARD projects under the MWAS Department had paid 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent of the contract value to the associates of the minister. For this, the ED claims to have recovered WhatsApp chats and calculation sheets from the mobile handsets of the associates of the minister during the searches. Even officers in the department had been used to collect the bribes it claimed, and further alleged that the bribes were collected in the guise of party funds. The ED alleged that the money had been transferred through hawala networks within and outside the country.