Tamil Nadu Minister arrested by probe agency, breaks down at hospital

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

Chennai, June 14, 2023: Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader V Senthil Balaji broke down in tears when he was being taken to a hospital for a medical checkup by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Wednesday morning. The minister has been arrested in an alleged money laundering case.

 

The ED on Tuesday raided Mr Balaji’s home before taking him away for questioning. The minister was arrested this morning after hours of questioning.

As the probe agency took Mr Balaji for a medical examination after the arrest, there were dramatic scenes at a government hospital in Chennai. The DMK leader was seen weeping copiously in an ambulance as his supporters outside shouted slogans against the Enforcement Directorate.

The minister was bodily taken out of the ambulance as he kept wailing.

DMK MP and lawyer NR Elango said Mr Balaji has been shifted to the ICU of the hospital. "There is no clarity if the ED has arrested him. No arrest guidelines have been followed," he said.

"I saw him (Mr Balaji) when he was shifted to ICU. Doctors are evaluating his health condition. It is a procedure when a person says he has been assaulted the doctor needs to note down all the injuries and will know after seeing the report. Officially we have not been informed (by ED) that he has been arrested," Mr Elango added.

"Senthil Balaji is undergoing treatment," said Tamil Nadu Sports Minister and DMK Youth Wing chief Udhayanidhi Stalin. "We would face it legally. The DMK will not be cowed down by the BJP’s intimidation."

Recently, Income Tax (IT) authorities searched the properties of Mr Balaji’s associates across the state. This came after the Supreme Court allowed the Enforcement Directorate to continue its investigation into cash-for-jobs allegations against Mr Balaji dating back to when he was a minister during the Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK regime. The Supreme Court had also allowed the agency to proceed with its investigation into the alleged money laundering case.

The ruling DMK had accused the BJP of targeting the party in panic after being unseated in Karnataka in recent assembly elections.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin slammed the BJP-led central government for the raids on Mr Balaji and said the party is resorting to "politics of intimidation".

The ED on Tuesday raided Mr Balaji’s residence, his office at the Tamil Nadu Secretariat and the premises of his brother and a close aide in Karur district. Chief Minister Stalin condemned the searches at the Secretariat, saying that the BJP’s "politics of threatening their political rivals through backdoor tactics" will not work.

Mr Stalin further said that conducting a raid at the Secretariat is a violation of the federal structure of the country.

Mr Balaji is the Minister of Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, and the Karur District Secretary of the DMK.