ED Interrogates Senthil Balaji, a Minister of Tamil Nadu
Senthil Balaji, a minister without a portfolio in Tamil Nadu who was detained on June 14 in connection with a money laundering investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is now being questioned by the investigation team.
The ED was given permission to examine Balaji for five days, from August 8 to August 12, after the Supreme Court upheld his detention.
He has to complete a 200-page questionnaire. He will be questioned by the investigators about the incident.
The minister, who had a cardiac bypass operation following his detention and is now being treated in the hospital at Chennai’s Puzhal Central Prison, will nonetheless be offered relaxation breaks on a regular basis.
Notably, the minister was in control of the departments of Power and Excise, and now that he has been arrested, he has no authority. However, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has kept him on as a cabinet member without a portfolio.
While he was a minister in the Jayalalithaa government, Balaji was detained in a case involving work for pay.
The ED has accused the minister of defrauding unsuspecting job applicants out of their money by promising them positions in the state transportation department.
