CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday searched multiple locations in Tamil Nadu, including the premises of minister and senior DMK leader K N Nehru, as part of an alleged bank loan fraud case against a real estate group promoted by his brother, official sources said. The searches covered locations in Chennai, Tiruchirappalli and Coimbatore with ED officials being provided security by central security forces.
The probe pertains to an alleged Rs 22 crore worth bank loan fraud linked to a real estate entity named TVH Group, promoted by K N Ravichandran, the brother of K N Nehru, the sources said. The CBI filed an FIR in this case in 2021.
K N Nehru is the Tamil Nadu minister for municipal administration. The sources said the premises of the minister, whose son Arun Nehru is a Lok Sabha MP, were also covered during the raids that are continuing.
The ED is also investigating the loan funds being allegedly routed to a Trust “controlled” by the family, as per the sources.
Premises linked to the probe in Tiruchirappalli, which is the home city of minister K N Nehru, were also searched.
Reacting to ED searches, Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy hit out at the BJP-led Centre and alleged that the “Enforcement Directorate is an ally of the BJP”, just like the parties of Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) and Nitish Kumar (JDU).
“We regard the ED as their (BJP) ally and nothing more,” he told reporters here, adding the agency is a “non-political partner”.
