Senthil Balaji, a minister in Tamil Nadu, has been arrested for eight days by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a cash-for-jobs scam that reportedly included him when he was the transport minister in the J Jayalalithaa-led government at the time.
The Tamil Nadu minister may now be questioned in the hospital thanks to a court order allowing the Enforcement Directorate to do so. Senthil Balaji will stay in ED custody until June 23 under the court’s directive.
The federal investigation agency claims that Senthil Balaji ‘engineered’ a job racket scheme in the state transportation undertakings during 2014–2015 with claimed kickbacks paid by applicants through his cronies. Senthil Balaji is accused of ‘misusing’ his office for illegal gain.
In custody records, the ED disclosed that unauthorised cash deposits totaling almost Rs 1.60 crore were found in the bank accounts of V Senthil Balaji and his wife. The ED considers him the ‘prime suspect’ in the cash-for-jobs case.
Balaji, 47, was arrested by the ED in Chennai earlier this week in accordance with the PMLA’s criminal provisions. The agency searched Balaji’s premises and other places connected to him before the arrest.
MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, has denounced the ED’s move against Senthil and called it ‘intimidation politics’ being out by the federal government. After complaining of discomfort, the minister sought medical attention at a city government hospital. He had a coronary angiography, and the doctor encouraged him to have bypass surgery as soon as possible.
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