Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader V Senthil Balaji went through a coronary angiogram today, hours after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case. The hospital in Chennai where Mr. Balaji is being treated added that the procedure revealed a triple vessel disease which requires a CABG-bypass surgery “at the earliest”.
The ED 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.
Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy has claimed that Electricity Minister V Senthilbalaji was “targeted and tortured” and that ED questioned him “continuously for 24 hours”. Senthilbalaji, who was arrested by ED in connection with an alleged cash-for-jobs scam, was taken to a healthcare facility. “This is totally against human rights. They (ED) have to answer to…people,” Regupathy said.
Mr. Balaji’s wife has moved the Madras High Court against his arrest. The High Court has agreed to an urgent hearing of the case. The DMK leader’s wife has alleged that the arrest was made without any notice or summons.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin visited Mr. Balaji at the hospital today.
Recently, Income Tax 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. Chief Minister 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.
(With inputs from agencies)
