Tamil Nadu: Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi returns home after eight hours of ED grilling

livemint.com:

After eight hours of grilling by the Enforcement Directorate, Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi returned home on early hours of Tuesday. The agency has summoned Ponmudi to its office on Tuesday evening at 4 pm. On the other hand, DMK leaders have called the ED arrest and questioning as central government's vendetta politics.

DMK spokesperson Saravanan called the eight-hour long interrogation, as an ‘utter violation of human rights’. "It is a 2007 case. They are saying that if he is not interrogated today evidence will be lost.

Whom are they trying to joke? It is a fraud played on the human rights of this country. He is a 72-year-old man. He is already under medication.

This is an utter violation of human rights," he said.  He also claimed that Ponmudi had to bear with the ED for almost 22 hours. "From 7 am yesterday morning untill 3:30, almost 22 hours. Imagine the torture the Minister had undergone," he said.

On Monday, ED conducted searches at Ponmudi's residences in Chennai and Viluppuram. Earlier in June, hours, after minister V Senthil Balaji was taken into custory by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Tamil Nadu minister Ponmudi called the custory as a ‘revengeful act’. He also claimed that the centre is using ED against ministers of those states where there is a non-BJP government.