Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials are conducting searches at a palatial house in Karur which is reportedly being built by minister Senthil Balaji’s brother Ashok Kumar at a cost of Rs 300 crore.

According to a report by The Hindu, the ED officials came with a team of engineers and surveryors to ascertain the cost of construction.

The search comes at a time when Balaji is under the ED’s custody in Chennai.

A notice asking Kumar’s wife Nirmala to appear before the agency has been pasted on the wall of the house, according to a report by Maalai Malar. Kumar has not appeared before the ED and the Income Tax officials in spite of repeated summons.

The purchase of the plot on which the house is being built had come under scrutiny as it was allegedly sold to Lakshmi, the mother of Balaji’s sister-in-law, Nirmala for a price of Rs 10.88 lakh when the estimated value is Rs 25 crore.