Chennai, Aug 24: Tamil Nadu's anti-corruption bureau on Friday told the Madras High Court that a preliminary inquiry against Chief Minister K. Palaniswami has started.

The DMK had on Thursday filed a petition in the high court alleging corruption in road construction projects and sought a direction to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a case against the Chief Minister.

When the matter came up for hearing, the government counsel told the court, the DVAC started a preliminary probe into the complaint on June 22 this year.

The petition, filed by DMK leader R.S. Bharathi, alleged Palaniswami misused his official position in allocation of various road construction projects to companies owned by his relatives and others.

Bharathi said a complaint was made to the DVAC against Palaniswami on June 13, but no case was registered nor was an inquiry held into the allegations contained in the complaint.

The court directed the government to submit a report on the action taken by the DVAC in the next hearing on September 3, 2018.

Last month, the Madras High Court had also ordered the DVAC to complete its probe against Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam for allegedly having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Bharathi had filed a case in the high court after making a complaint with the DVAC, alleging that Panneerselvam has amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Meanwhile, DMK Working President M.K. Stalin in a statement said it is shocking to note that corruption complaints filed against Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Ministers to DVAC move at the speed of a tortoise.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 24, 2018 07:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).