K.N. Nehru under DVAC scanner: The raids and the political fallout for DMK

The early morning raids on October 29 at premises linked DMK principal secretary and former minister K.N. Nehru have opened another front in the political battle between the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government and the opposition DMK. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) searched 25 locations across Tamil Nadu in connection with an alleged ₹634 crore cash-for-jobs scam in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department.

The case concerns allegations that money was collected from candidates seeking appointments to 2,538 government posts, including assistant engineers and junior engineers, during Nehru’s tenure as municipal administration minister. The investigation gathered momentum after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) forwarded material on the alleged irregularities to the state police in October 2025.

The Madras High Court directed the registration of a criminal case in February 2026. After the court dismissed Nehru’s review petition on October 26, the former minister approached the Supreme Court challenging the order. The DVAC searches followed two days later. Investigators are examining documents, financial records and other material to establish the alleged money trail.

A second case compounds the problem

The recruitment investigation is not the only case confronting Nehru. In September, the DVAC registered another case alleging irregularities in municipal contracts worth ₹1,020 crore awarded between 2021 and 2025. The FIR names Nehru and 12 others, including his brothers, former legislators, officials and contractors. It alleges that tenders were manipulated and illegal gratification collected under the guise of party funds. These allegations, too, remain to be proved. Together, the two cases have put the former minister under scrutiny over both recruitment and public expenditure.

Stalin calls it as political vendetta

DMK president M.K. Stalin has accused Joseph Vijay’s government of using the raids to divert attention from law and order issues. The party has characterised the searches as politically motivated, while the government’s anti-corruption machinery is pursuing investigations based on material referred to it by the ED and directions issued by the high court.

For the DMK, the immediate challenge is to contest the allegations legally while preventing the cases from becoming a wider indictment of its previous administration. Nehru is considered to be the party’s strongman, with a substantial base in Tiruchi, making the investigation politically consequential. The raids and the investigation also raises important political questions as Nehru is the DMK points man in Trichy East constituency which is likely to go for by polls soon. This constituency was vacated by Vijay himself. Already DMK’s yet another Trichy strongman and former minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has been taken into custody in a corruption case. Mahesh is DMK’s district secretary, while Nehru is the regional secretary under which the Trichy East constituency falls.

The controversy also places the TVK government under scrutiny. It will have to demonstrate that the investigation is evidence based, follows due process and is not selective. The DMK’s charge of vendetta does not settle the allegations and equally the raids do not establish guilt. The next stage in the investigation will, however, depend on whether the investigators can substantiate the alleged transactions and how the courts assess the evidence.