CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids again in Tamil Nadu. The inspection was carried out at nine places including Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy's house in Villupuram. The raid started at 7 am. The house of Ponmudy's son Gautham Sigamani and Surya Engineering College in Vizhupuram are being searched. The raid is being carried out by a group of seven officers. Uncertainty surrounds the purpose of the lighting test.

The ED search was conducted when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin was about to leave to attend a meeting of opposition parties in Bengaluru. Earlier, the ED raid and the arrest of Minister Senthil Balaji were very controversial in the state. Senthil Balaji was arrested in a case related to job fraud when he was the transport minister during the AIADMK regime.

Earlier this month, Ponmudy was acquitted of the land acquisition case registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) against six people, including Ponmudy. It was alleged that between 1996 and 2001 when he was a DMK minister, he had illegally encroached on government land in Chennai's Saidapet.

In 2020, Ponmudy's son Gautham Sigamani's property worth Rs 8.6 crore was confiscated by the investigating agency. A case was registered against him for not repatriating illegally earned foreign exchange. Gautham, who is also an MP, owns agricultural land, buildings and a bank balance of Rs 8.6 crore in Tamil Nadu.