CHENNAI: State Electricity, Excise, and Prohibition Minister V Senthilbalaji was arrested by Enforcement Directorate, in the early hours of Wednesday, sources said.
Arrest came after 18 hours of search operation at his house on Greenways road. The case is linked to job-for-cash scam in transport department, which happened when he was transport minister in AIADMK regime during 2011-16.
He was arrested under the provisions of prevention of money laundering act.
Minister was taken to Omandurar government hospital at around 2.30 am on Wednesday by ED team after he complained of chest pain, sources said.
Though senior ministers from DMK cabinet are rushing to the hospital, nobody was allowed to see Senthil Balaji sources said.
ED started the probe into to the case after getting a nod from Supreme Court though Madras HC has earlier allowed a re-investigatiom by state police.
Background of the case:
In March 2021, just before the assembly election, Chennai police had filed a chargesheet against Senthilbalaji and 46 others including senior retired and serving officers of various transport corporations in connection with a recruitment scam that rocked the state in 2014-15.
Of the 47 accused cited by Chennai City-CCB which investigated the case, 33 suspects were those who got appointment in various transport corporations including MTC, Chennai, after paying bribe to the then minister Senthilbalaji through his aides.
In the scam it was alleged that various officials of the Transport Corporations colluded with the minister and his close associates in the matter of appointment of candidates in the process of recruitment and committed malpractices and irregularities by abusing their official positions.
It was alleged that V.Senthilbalaji being the Minister for Transport, conspired together with the other accused, the Managing Directors, Appointing Authorities and Personnel Section Officers of the Transport Corporations to issue appointment orders for the candidates for whom he had sent list through his assistants.