The Enforcement Directorate (ED) intensified its crackdown on the family of Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru, with searches stretching into a second day on Tuesday.

The agency escalated its investigation by taking Nehru’s businessman brother, K N Ravichandran, to its Chennai office for questioning, sources confirmed. The operation, launched Monday across Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, and Coimbatore, targets an alleged Rs 22 crore bank loan fraud tied to TVH Group, a real estate firm Ravichandran promotes.

The ED’s probe, rooted in a 2021 CBI FIR, zeroes in on financial irregularities, including loan funds allegedly funneled to a trust “controlled” by the Nehru family. Searches have spanned multiple premises, including those of the minister—whose son, Arun Nehru, is a Lok Sabha MP—and key locations in Tiruchirappalli, Nehru’s home turf.

Additional transactions and complaints against TVH Group are also under scrutiny, hinting at a sprawling scandal.

As Ravichandran faced questioning, the ED continued scouring properties for evidence, signaling no let-up in the high-stakes investigation.

The raids have sparked political fire, with Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy slamming the BJP-led Centre on Monday, branding the ED a “BJP ally” akin to TDP and JD-U. “It’s a non-political partner in their game,” he charged, accusing the agency of targeting DMK leaders. With tensions rising, the probe’s next moves could reshape Tamil Nadu’s political landscape—or unearth a deeper web of financial deceit.