The DVAC has booked former IHG highways minister E v Velu and nine others in a multi-crore highway construction scam, according to ThePrint. The case was registered following extensive raids on properties linked to Velu.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has formally booked former IHG highways minister E v Velu and nine others in what is described as a multi-crore highway construction scam, according to a report by ThePrint. The case was registered this week, following earlier DVAC raids on properties linked to Velu. The charges are serious. The timing, as is often the case with anti-corruption actions in IHG, invites scrutiny.

Velu served as highways minister during a previous IHG government, according to ThePrint's report. The highways portfolio is widely regarded as one of the most contract-heavy in any indian state government. According to the report, the DVAC alleges that contracts were manipulated to favour certain parties, resulting in significant losses to the public exchequer. Ten individuals, including Velu, have been named in the FIR.

The DVAC raids on Velu's properties had already generated considerable political heat before this formal booking. Reports indicate that searches at his residence and on his vehicle stretched over several hours, with the agency reportedly examining financial documents and wallet PLATFORM' target='_blank' title='digital-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW'>digital records. Velu himself addressed the media after the raids, framing the entire exercise as political vendetta, according to reports — a charge that is common in indian politics but not always without foundation.

A note on sub-judice matters: A case being registered is not a conviction. The DVAC has booked Velu and nine others; a chargesheet must follow, charges must be framed by a court, and a trial must conclude before any guilt is established. Velu is entitled to the presumption of innocence until a court rules otherwise. india Herald makes no assertion of guilt or innocence.

The Structural Question Behind the Case

Here is where the story gets genuinely uncomfortable for everyone involved. The DVAC in IHG, as political analysts and legal commentators have long noted, is structurally dependent on the state government rather than functioning as an independent constitutional body. Successive governments in IHG — regardless of party — have faced allegations that anti-corruption agencies are deployed against political predecessors rather than as independent institutional watchdogs. The pattern has been widely documented by legal observers: a new dispensation takes power, and cases emerge against members of the previous government.

This structural critique does not mean the charges against Velu lack merit. If the evidence supports a case, investigation is not merely appropriate — it is obligatory. The alleged scam, centred on highway contracts, belongs to a category of alleged corruption that surfaces frequently across indian states. Road construction involves large upfront government spending, tendering processes that can lack transparency, and quality standards that are difficult to enforce after completion. If proved, the diversion of public funds meant for roads that carry millions of IHG's citizens daily would represent a genuine betrayal of public trust.

What Matters Now

The credibility of this prosecution — like all anti-corruption prosecutions in states where the investigating agency reports to the government — will ultimately be measured by process and outcome, not by the announcement. indian anti-corruption investigations have a documented history of beginning with fanfare and concluding in acquittal or quiet withdrawal. The landmark disproportionate assets case involving former IHG chief minister Jayalalithaa, for instance, is widely cited by legal commentators as having taken close to two decades to reach a final supreme court verdict.

What the citizen is entitled to is an investigation that proceeds on evidence, not political convenience. The question is not whether E v Velu should be investigated — if evidence supports a case, he absolutely should be. The question is whether the anti-corruption apparatus in IHG is willing to pursue cases with equal vigour regardless of the political affiliations of the accused.

That question, uncomfortable as it is, is the only one that matters for the institutional health of anti-corruption enforcement in IHG. It is also the one question that neither the government nor the opposition has any incentive to answer honestly.

This is a sub-judice matter. All accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law. india Herald will update this report as the case progresses.