chennai enforcement directorate ed sleuths on monday morning started searches in the house and other properties of tamil nadu higher education minister k ponmudy in chennai villupuram and other places in the stateaccording to sources searches are under way at nine places including the premises of ponmudys relatives and friendsthe searches are being conducted with the help of crpf personnel who have brought the premises under their controlthe ed searches are based on complaints that ponmudy while serving as a minister in his previous term had allotted red sand mining contracts illegally to his son and benamis it may be recalled that ponmudy was acquitted in disproportionate wealth accumulation and illegal red sand mining cases recentlyread also ed searches on ponmudys premises a ploy to divert purpose of opposition meeting in bengaluru stalin says