Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji sent to judicial custody till 25 Aug as ED files chargesheet

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PTI said. The 47-year-old DMK politician was arrested by ED on 14 June and is lodged in Puzhal central jail in Chennai. In its chargesheet, the central agency included documents seized, and purported cash receipts recovered.

In the last few days, ED recorded several statements from V Senthil Balaji which were made part of the chargesheet. The court has not yet acknowledged the chargesheet that was submitted under different sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. On 7 August, Judge Alli granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) permission to hold Senthil Balaji in custody for five days to questions related to the case.

As the custody period concluded on Saturday, the ED presented him before the judge. The central agency is expected to file a supplementary chargesheet in the matter as the other members of Senthil Balaji's family are not deposed yet. ED said that it has summoned Senthil Balaji's brother RV Ashok Balaji, his (Ashok's) wife Nirmala, and mother-in-law P Lakshmi to join the probe but they are "yet to appear in person, demonstrating a lack of cooperation with the ongoing investigation".

Recently, the central agency froze a 2.49-acre parcel of land situated in Karur, which holds a value exceeding ₹30 crore and is owned by Nirmala, as part of the ongoing case. Despite being arrested by the ED on 14 June concerning a money laundering investigation involving an alleged cash-for-jobs scheme from his tenure as the transport minister in the prior AIADMK administration, Senthil Balaji remains a minister without a specific portfolio in the Tamil Nadu government led by Chief Minister M K Stalin. From the day of his arrest, Senthil Balaji had been in judicial custody until 7 August.