The Enforcement Directorate arrested RV Ashok Balaji, the brother of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, in connection with the money laundering case, according to a India Today report. This arrest followed a day after Senthil Balaji was remanded to judicial custody.
The probe agency had said in a statement that Ashok Balaji, his (Ashok’s) wife Nirmala and mother-in-law P Lakshmi had been issued several summonses to participate in the investigation and provide their statements but they are “yet to appear in person, demonstrating a lack of cooperation with the ongoing investigation.”
Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) froze a 2.49-acre parcel of land in Karur, assessed at over Rs 30 crore, which is owned by Nirmala, as part of this ongoing case.
In the ongoing investigation linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam during Senthil Balaji’s tenure as the transport minister in the previous AIADMK regime, the 47-year-old DMK politician was presented before Principal Sessions Judge S Alli on Monday. Balaji, who had been arrested by the ED on June 14, was placed in judicial custody until August 25. The minister, who had been in the custody of the ED since his arrest, will remain at the Puzhal central jail in Chennai.
According to sources, the central agency has lodged a prosecution complaint spanning approximately 3,000 pages, which comprises over 2,000 pages of annexures and operational documents, formally naming Balaji as an accused.
The ED has incorporated numerous seized documents, alleged cash receipts, and statements recorded from Balaji over the preceding days into the charge sheet. The court has not yet acknowledged the complaint (charge sheet) submitted under different sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as per reports.
Earlier, Judge Alli had granted the ED five days of custody for Senthil Balaji on August 7 for interrogation in relation to the case. As the custody period concluded on Saturday, the ED presented him before the judge.
During the court appearance, the judge inquired about Balaji’s treatment during his custody with the ED and whether he had any grievances against the agency. Balaji responded that he was treated well and had no complaints, according to report.
The agency is anticipated to submit a supplementary charge sheet later, as several individuals, including members of Balaji’s family, have yet to provide statements to the ED. The agency had previously asserted that Balaji had “misused” his position to gain illicit benefits and had orchestrated a job racket scheme within the state transport undertakings in 2014-15, wherein purported kickbacks were channeled through his associates, including his brother R V Ashok Kumar and his personal aides B Shanmugam and M Karthikeyan.
According to the ED, this scheme resulted in job placements being awarded unfairly, undermining the rightful candidates’ chances.
In September 2021, the ED initiated a money laundering investigation into these allegations. The basis of their complaint rests on three Tamil Nadu Police FIRs filed in 2018, along with subsequent complaints from individuals who were unsuccessful in securing the promised jobs.
(With inputs from PTI)
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