NEW DELHI: During Monday’s 14-hour searches on Tamil Nadu’s higher education minister what ponmudy and his son P Ashok Sigamani, MP, ED seized large amounts of cash, including substantial amounts of foreign currency, and froze fixed deposits in entities linked to the minister, official sources said.
Responding to back-to-back ED searches for ministers of state, prime minister mk stalin he dismissed them as mere drama intended to divert public attention. “As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, the governor is conducting an election campaign. Now, the enforcement address has been added to it,” she said.
DMK claimed that the case for which the ED searched Ponmudy properties is over a decade old and was initiated by the AIADMK government under the leadership of J Jayalalithaa.
Searches targeted Ponmudy’s properties in Chennai and his constituency in Villupuram, which required the assistance of central forces during the operation. The ED operation came more than a week after Ponmudy and his family members were acquitted in two disproportionate asset cases by the courts of Villapuram and Chennai.
The Madras High Court recently refused to close the mining case, originally brought by the Villupuram criminal branch, against Ponmudy, his son, other relatives and helpers. The minister has been accused of causing a loss of Rs 28 crore to the public treasury by awarding contracts to people close to him.
Coinciding with the raids on Ponmudy and his associates, the minister Senthil Balaji He has been transferred from the hospital to the prison.
Opposition leaders including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the searches of emergency departments.
Responding to back-to-back ED searches for ministers of state, prime minister mk stalin he dismissed them as mere drama intended to divert public attention. “As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, the governor is conducting an election campaign. Now, the enforcement address has been added to it,” she said.
DMK claimed that the case for which the ED searched Ponmudy properties is over a decade old and was initiated by the AIADMK government under the leadership of J Jayalalithaa.
Searches targeted Ponmudy’s properties in Chennai and his constituency in Villupuram, which required the assistance of central forces during the operation. The ED operation came more than a week after Ponmudy and his family members were acquitted in two disproportionate asset cases by the courts of Villapuram and Chennai.
The Madras High Court recently refused to close the mining case, originally brought by the Villupuram criminal branch, against Ponmudy, his son, other relatives and helpers. The minister has been accused of causing a loss of Rs 28 crore to the public treasury by awarding contracts to people close to him.
Coinciding with the raids on Ponmudy and his associates, the minister Senthil Balaji He has been transferred from the hospital to the prison.
Opposition leaders including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the searches of emergency departments.