CHENNAI: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has named former minister K N Nehru and his two brothers among 13 persons as accused in a case regarding the alleged manipulation of government tenders under the Municipal Administration, Urban and Water Supply department, and the collection of illegal gratification, disguised as “party fund”. The FIR alleges a wrongful gain of Rs 1,020 crore and states that illegal gratification was collected at 7.5%-10% of the contract value.
The case, registered on Friday, follows a DVAC inquiry based on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) 258-page report on alleged irregularities in government contracts between 2021 and 2025. The FIR alleges that K N Nehru, named as the prime accused, had facilitated access to senior IAS officers and influenced tender-awarding procedures.
Nehru’s brothers — K N Manivannan (A2) and N Ravichandran (A3) — have been accused of coordinating the collection and routing of illegal gratification. A calculation sheet recovered from Manivannan’s phone allegedly records receipts of Rs 11.982 crore and disbursements of Rs 11.669 crore, with a substantial portion allegedly passed on to him. The FIR alleges that Nehru allowed his brothers to coordinate with his close associate, Kavi Prasad, to collect illegal gratification from contractors and public servants. The document states Rs 1 crore was collected from V R Water Infra at Avinashi on Ravichandran’s directions. The FIR also cites other alleged V R Water Infra collections of Rs 2.77 crore, Rs 5 crore, Rs 2 crore, and Rs 4 crore.
Kavi Prasad (A4), the then director of True Value Homes (TVH) Group of Companies, acted as an intermediary, allegedly arranging meetings with officials, sharing tender information, and helping “prefix” preferred bidders before tenders opened. D Ramesh (A5) and D Prabhu (A6), also associated with the TVH Group, have been accused of handling collections in Tiruppur and Coimbatore regions.
R Sasipriya (A7), then Coimbatore town planning officer, is accused of collecting money from contractors and routing it to Manivannan through Ramesh and Prabhu. G Balachandran (A8) and G Murugesan (A9), then regional engineers in Tiruppur, are accused of facilitating municipal works and kickbacks.
2 ex-MLAs named accused
Former DMK legislators S Sudarshanam (A10) of Madhavaram and J J Ebenezer (A11) of R K Nagar are also accused of recommending contractors and sharing tender details and alleged bribe calculations with Prasad. The proprietor and office-bearers of C T Constructions in Chennai are named A12, while contractor K Sathish Kumar is A13. The FIR also names unknown officials, contractors and firms.
A WhatsApp exchange, dated September 6, 2021, shows Sudarshanam sending Prasad details of a CMWSSB tender. Against one item, “C&T 75 lakh” is written in blue ink, along with the contract value in pencil. The inquiry noted that the message was sent 22 days before the tender was opened.
Another batch of images, dated July 30, 2024, shows Ebenezer sharing a letter listing stormwater drain contracts, along with a calculation sheet, which allegedly showed a 10% “party fund” of Rs 55.15 lakh on contracts worth Rs 525.31 lakh. It also recorded Rs 15 lakh as paid and Rs 35.15 lakh as pending. The inquiry linked these packages to work orders subsequently issued to Sathish Kumar. Calculation sheets relating to Tiruppur region record estimates, deductions, and commissions, with Rs 155.79 lakh shown as received from the then Tiruppur regional engineer.
The case originated from the ED report submitted on December 3, 2025. Upon state government’s permission, the DVAC registered an inquiry on December 12. The FIR was filed under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and submitted to the City Civil and Sessions Court, Chennai.
