Chennai, July 29 : The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Wednesday conducted simultaneous searches at multiple premises linked to former Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader V. Senthil Balaji in Karur district as part of an investigation into alleged corruption cases registered against him.

The searches began at around 7 a.m. at Senthil Balajiâ??s residence in Rameswarapatti near Karur and other locations associated with him and his close aides.

More than 10 DVAC officials, backed by police security, participated in the operation, which continued for several hours.

According to officials, searches were carried out at five locations, including Senthil Balajiâ??s ancestral house near Manmangalam, the residence of his aide Subramani, the house of DMK functionary Bhaskaran, and the residences of Karthi and Ramesh in the Kodainagar area.

Investigators were seen examining documents and other materials as part of the ongoing probe.

The raids come against the backdrop of multiple cases pending against the former minister. These include allegations relating to the cash-for-government jobs scam, the alleged Rs 1,000-crore irregularities in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), and the alleged Rs 397-crore corruption in the procurement of transformers. The investigations into these cases are being pursued by different agencies.

Senthil Balaji is also facing a separate criminal case relating to an alleged conspiracy to destabilise the ruling TVK government. In that case, he and his younger brother, Ashok Kumar, have been directed to appear daily before the Triplicane Police Station in Chennai as part of the conditions imposed by the court while granting them anticipatory bail.

The investigation into the alleged conspiracy case is being supervised by senior police officers led by Deputy Commissioner Jayachandran.

Officials have stated that evidence is being collected from multiple sources as part of the inquiry, while the accused have denied any wrongdoing.

The searches on Wednesday are expected to focus on gathering documentary and digital evidence that could assist investigators in the corruption cases.

The DVAC has not yet issued an official statement on the outcome of the raids or disclosed whether any documents, electronic devices or valuables were seized during the operation.

Further details are expected after the searches are completed.

/IANS