Turning the heat on Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration and Water Supplies Minister KN Nehru, the Enforcement Directorate sources claim to have written to the state government to file another FIR against him for an alleged Rs 1,020 crore corruption for what they call "manipulation and corruption in tenders and contracts."
Explaining the modus operandi, a source in the Enforcement Directorate told NDTV, "Government contracts were fudged even before opening of tenders and awarded to pre-decided contractors for a 7.5% to 10% bribe for construction projects, including building of toilets and outsourcing of work."
The 258-page document sent to the Tamil Nadu Government, Enforcement Directorate sources say, has 300 pictures of what they claim to be evidence, including screenshots and photographs of these alleged deals. The probe agency claims to have retrieved notes mentioning details of the contract, names of the payor, breakup of the contract value, name of the panchayat, bribe paid, and bribe pending. "We have collected calculation sheets and related messages," added the ED source.
Authorities call the alleged Rs 1,020 Crore corruption only a modest estimate. Payments, they claim, have been made in cash and via hawala transactions. "We have not taken into account corruption through other forms of manipulation," a source said.
Unlike last time, "We have written to the Chief Secretary, DGP in charge, and the DVAC to act and file an FIR," an officer told NDTV.
Only recently, the central agency in its first dossier had written to the state government alleging a mega cash-for-jobs scam in the same department, collecting Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh in bribes from 150 candidates for the appointment of assistant engineers, junior engineers, and town planning officers, among around 2400 appointments made.
The ED, sources say, stumbled upon this evidence from the mobile phones and digital devices recovered during searches in the properties of the minister's brothers, who run True Value Homes, a construction company, while investigating a 30 crore bank fraud case that was ultimately closed.
DVAC sources NDTV spoke to confirm receipt of a consignment from ED. An officer told NDTV, "Yes, we've received a tapal from the Enforcement Directorate. But we are yet to study and prepare a note."
The Tamil Nadu Police is yet to respond to queries by NDTV on receipt of documents from the ED.
Last time Minister KN Nehru had denied allegations and called them "politically motivated." He claimed "Anna University had held the examination for the jobs, and not a single complaint was received from the Rs 2 lakh applicants." He also added the ED is desperately cooking up cases after it found nothing in the alleged bank fraud case.
KN Nehru has not yet responded for the second dossier. However, the ruling DMK calls it "an election-time stunt by the Enforcement Directorate" being "misused by the center." The party says ED's credibility is at the lowest after what it calls "The Supreme Court's expose on the Electoral Bond scam." DMK Spokesperson Dr Syed Hafeezullah told NDTV, "With elections due in Tamil Nadu, BJP aims to create a media buzz to set a narrative around corruption."
