DVAC books Duraimurugan in illegal sand mining case

Former Minister Duraimurugan. | Photo Credit: C. VENKATACHALAPATHY The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has registered a case against DMK general secretary and former Minister Duraimurugan and others in an alleged multi-crore illegal sand mining case.After prima facie evidence was established in a detailed inquiry conducted into complaints lodged by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and two others, the DVAC booked Mr. Duraimurugan, the then Minister of Water Resources Department (WRD), as the first accused, apart from the then Engineers-in-Chief A. Muthaiya and Ramamoorthi, 14 officials of the WRD, 10 private individuals/firms, and others.The complainants alleged corruption and malpractices in river sand mining at 28 quarries across Tamil Nadu between 2021 and 2024. Contracts were awarded through limited tender instead of an open tender. Sand was mined beyond the permitted quantum and fake vouchers in the name of ‘Permit Slips’ were created and used as genuine to facilitate the transportation of the sand.The DVAC in a statement said the irregularities, when assessed in four of the 28 river sand quarrying sites, revealed a loss to the tune of ₹1,427 crore to the State exchequer. Several teams conducted searches in 34 locations in the State as part of the investigation and 825 incriminating documents, 11 electronic gadgets, and three bank locker keys were found.ED letterThe DVAC case comes more than two years after the ED sent a letter flagging an alleged ₹4,730-crore scam in illegal sand mining to the Tamil Nadu government. The Central agency, while investigating allegations of money laundering involving illegal sand mining in the State, found serious irregularities in the process of mining and sale of river sand. Experts were roped in from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and other Central agencies for assessing the extent of sand that was illegally mined. It was established that a huge quantity of sand was illegally mined.The ED shared the information gathered during the probe with the then Director-General of Police and Head of the Police Force in compliance with the statutory obligation under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, which mandated the Central agency to share such information with the other law-enforcing agencies.It was alleged by the ED that the total value of the illegal sand mined during the period of check could be to the tune of ₹4,730 crore, whereas the revenue shown on record by the officials was only ₹36.45 crore. The agency provisionally attached assets worth ₹136.6 crore, including movable assets valued at ₹128.34 crore, comprising 209 sand excavators deployed in illicit sand mining. About ₹2.25 crore deposits in bank accounts belonging to the contractors — Shanmugham Ramachandran and Karuppaiah Rethinam — and other accused persons were attached under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.Report to HCIn a report submitted to the Madras High Court, the ED said it was in possession of credible scientific evidence, based on technical study of all mining sites using drone and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Surveys, Bathymetric Surveys, Satellite Imagery Processing etc, which established that rampant illegal sand mining had happened in the jurisdiction of various District Collectors.DVAC teams conducted simultaneous searches at the residences of a few incumbent and retired government officials and some contractors and businessmen in Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts early on Friday in connection with the case.In Tiruchi city, the teams conducted searches at the residences of an Assistant Engineer of the WRD and an Executive Engineer of the Mines and Monitoring Division in Khajamalai. A search was carried out at the residence of a retired Public Works Department engineer in Manapparai as well. In Pudukottai district, one of the teams carried out the search at the residence of a sand mining contractor at Muthupattinam village. The team began the search around 8.30 a.m. and carried on for several hours.Searches were conducted on the premises of two partners of a private infrastructure firm in the town and the premises of a businessman in Embal and Thiruvakudi, police sources added.(With inputs from R. Rajaram in Tiruchi) Published - November 06, 2026 12:13 pm IST