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The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered a case against former Tamil Nadu minister and Tiruvannamalai MLA EV Velu, his son EV Kumaran, and several government officials, contractors and private individuals over the alleged illegal excavation of lake-bed material in Tiruvannamalai district to level land for a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) conference held in December 2025.
The FIR was registered on September 24, based on a complaint filed by Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of the anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam, with the DVAC director on August 14.
According to the FIR, the alleged excavation took place at Malappambadi Lake between November and the first week of December 2025, ahead of the DMK northern zone youth wing conference held on December 14 at Kalaignar Thidal in Malappambadi.
The conference venue was spread across around 124.56 acres owned by Kumaran, the FIR said. Kumaran is a director of Arunai Products and Services Pvt Ltd, which purchased the property from Rishi Enterprises for Rs 46 crore on June 12, 2024.
At the time, Velu was the Minister for Highways, Minor Ports and Public Works, as well as the DMK’s northern zonal in-charge and Tiruvannamalai (south) district secretary. The FIR alleged that he misused his official position and facilitated the excavation and transportation of lake-bed material to the conference site to level the land.
The complaint alleged that around 45,72,058 cubic feet of lake-bed material was removed from Malappambadi Lake, causing an estimated loss of Rs 8.22 crore to the government exchequer.
According to the FIR, Malappambadi Lake, which covers around 70.65 acres, was not among the waterbodies included in a June 19, 2024 notification issued by the district administration permitting the removal of clay, silt and gravel.
The DVAC said Kumaran had not obtained permission from the Revenue Department, Corporation or Geology and Mining Department to remove gravel or other lake-bed material from Malappambadi Lake.
The FIR also details two permissions obtained by Kumaran to remove clay and silt from Palliyampattu Lake.
Kumaran submitted applications on October 31 and November 27, 2025. The Tiruvannamalai tahsildar subsequently granted permission to remove 30 cubic metres of clay and silt from Palliyampattu Lake and transport it to land in Malappambadi village.
A second permission was issued for the removal of another 24 cubic metres from the same lake.
However, the DVAC said its verification found that no material had actually been removed from Palliyampattu Lake.
The lake was around 750 metres from Kumaran’s property, while Malappambadi Lake was adjacent to the land where the conference was held, the FIR said.
The DVAC alleged that the permissions for Palliyampattu Lake were therefore not connected to the material actually used to level the conference site.
According to the FIR, no effective action was taken to stop the excavation, determine the extent of material removed, identify those responsible or initiate proceedings.
“Such deliberate and wilful inaction, despite knowledge of the illegal excavation, prima facie indicates connivance with the persons involved,” the DVAC said.
The case has been registered under Sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 316(5) (criminal breach of trust), 318(3) (cheating), 324(5) (commits mischief) and 49 (abetment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Sections 13(2) (criminal misconduct) and 12 (abetment of offence) of the Prevention of Corruption Act have also been invoked.
