DVAC Registers Case Against Durai Murugan Over Alleged Rs 1,427-Crore Sand Mining Loss

The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered a case against senior DMK leader and former minister Durai Murugan and several others over alleged irregularities in river sand mining that reportedly caused a loss of more than Rs 1,427 crore to the state exchequer.

Following the registration of the case, vigilance officials conducted simultaneous searches at 34 locations across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Friday, seizing 825 incriminating documents, 11 electronic devices and three bank locker keys.

According to an official release, the case was registered based on complaints received from the Enforcement Directorate's Chennai office, as well as S Tamilselvan and Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of anti-corruption organisation Arappor Iyakkam.

Besides Durai Murugan, the FIR names retired Engineers-in-Chief A Muthaiya and Ramamoorthi, 14 serving officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD), 10 private individuals and firms, and others.

The complaints alleged widespread corruption and irregularities in sand mining operations between 2021 and 2024 across 28 quarries in the state.

The DVAC alleged that contracts were awarded through limited tenders instead of open bidding and that sand was extracted beyond the quantities permitted under approved mining plans.

It also alleged that fake vouchers were fabricated and presented as genuine permit slips to facilitate the illegal transportation of sand.

A preliminary investigation covering four of the 28 quarries revealed a wrongful revenue loss of Rs 1,427,34,23,059 to the government, the agency said.

The searches were conducted across Chennai, Pudukkottai, Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Vellore, Madurai, Dindigul, Sivagangai, Coimbatore, Salem and Namakkal, besides neighbouring Puducherry.

Further investigation into the alleged irregularities is underway, officials said.