The searches began at around 7 a.m. at Senthil Balaji’s residence in Rameswarapatti near Karur and other locations associated with him and his close aides. 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. Senthil Balaji is also facing a separate criminal case relating to an alleged conspiracy to destabilise the ruling TVK government. The searches on Wednesday are expected to focus on gathering documentary and digital evidence that could assist investigators in the corruption cases.