Enforcement Directorate Files Money Laundering Case Against Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case against Tamil Nadu Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise Minister, Senthil Balaji under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The agency has summoned the minister to appear before it on 11 August, sources told IANS.

The Tamil Nadu Police's Central Crime Branch had registered three cases against Balaji on charges of cheating while serving as Transport Minister in the previous AIADMK government. However, the Madras High Court had quashed one of the cases.

Sources told IANS that the case against Balaji was based on the other cases registered against him

According to the Crime Branch FIR, it was alleged that Balaji, while Transport Minister, had entered into a conspiracy with senior officials of all the state transport undertakings with a motive of appointing people as drivers, conductors, junior tradesman, assistant engineer, and junior engineer in these undertakings.

The senior officials of these STUs were charged with entering into a criminal conspiracy in forging and altering the interview marks of candidates in records with the intention of overlooking meritorious candidates.

The charge sheet had also said that the registers were tampered with to provide jobs to ineligible candidates. The recent charge sheet filed by the Chennai Crime Branch on March 2021 has levelled serious allegations against the minister including corrupt practices in recruitment.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)