NEW DELHI: A high-pitch confrontation has begun between central agencies and the Government of Tamil Nadu with the Enforcement Directorate asking the state DGP on Saturday to register an FIR against officials of the state’s vigilance and anti-corruption department for illegally entering ED office and taking away sensitive documents related to several ongoing investigation.
Simultaneously, ED has registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR), ED’s equivalent to an FIR, in the matter of the arrest of an agency’s officer on Friday by the state’s vigilance department. The initiation of ECIR in the case involves summoning state’s vigilance officials and their questioning.
ED has claimed that 35 persons barged into its office in Madurai without valid search orders and revealing their identity. The raids continued from noon of December 1 till 7am the next morning. ED has accused that the raiding party “were constantly saying that they are having pressure from seniors to do these acts. When Panchanama was drawn, we were shocked that there were only four persons authorised for the search along with two witnesses.”
ED is currently investigating more than half-a-dozen ministers in the DMK government in connection with various corruption cases. A senior DMK minister Senthil Balaji, arrested by ED in June this year, has failed to get any relief even from the Supreme Court.
“There was no mention of the 35 persons who were present. Their identity is unknown. Whether they are police or private parties, even that is not known. Whether anyone has vested interest is not ascertainable. We’re in the process of ascertaining the same. How many documents were copied is not known,” ED said in its letter to the DGP.
The agency further alleged that “there are many cases which require protection of witnesses since ED is investi gating many powerful persons in the state.. We have a video recording which shows the presence of such 35 people.”
A day after one of its officers was arrested in Madurai, the ED claimed that first two persons came to ED’s Madurai office claiming to be officers from the Intelligence Bureau. When they were asked to reveal their identity cards, the two slipped away. Later, 35 people raided the premises without any search order and took away sensitive documents, ED has told the DGP seeking immediate registration of an FIR against trespassing.
“They have accessed the sensitive case records, information and internal documents of ED related to other cases which have no link with the alleged search case; the room of Ankit Tiwari, EO, ED, Madurai was locked intermittently during this search; therefore, the search team were having access to records of ED in private; ransacked the entire office of ED,” it said in its complaint.
Simultaneously, ED has registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR), ED’s equivalent to an FIR, in the matter of the arrest of an agency’s officer on Friday by the state’s vigilance department. The initiation of ECIR in the case involves summoning state’s vigilance officials and their questioning.
ED has claimed that 35 persons barged into its office in Madurai without valid search orders and revealing their identity. The raids continued from noon of December 1 till 7am the next morning. ED has accused that the raiding party “were constantly saying that they are having pressure from seniors to do these acts. When Panchanama was drawn, we were shocked that there were only four persons authorised for the search along with two witnesses.”
ED is currently investigating more than half-a-dozen ministers in the DMK government in connection with various corruption cases. A senior DMK minister Senthil Balaji, arrested by ED in June this year, has failed to get any relief even from the Supreme Court.
“There was no mention of the 35 persons who were present. Their identity is unknown. Whether they are police or private parties, even that is not known. Whether anyone has vested interest is not ascertainable. We’re in the process of ascertaining the same. How many documents were copied is not known,” ED said in its letter to the DGP.
The agency further alleged that “there are many cases which require protection of witnesses since ED is investi gating many powerful persons in the state.. We have a video recording which shows the presence of such 35 people.”
A day after one of its officers was arrested in Madurai, the ED claimed that first two persons came to ED’s Madurai office claiming to be officers from the Intelligence Bureau. When they were asked to reveal their identity cards, the two slipped away. Later, 35 people raided the premises without any search order and took away sensitive documents, ED has told the DGP seeking immediate registration of an FIR against trespassing.
“They have accessed the sensitive case records, information and internal documents of ED related to other cases which have no link with the alleged search case; the room of Ankit Tiwari, EO, ED, Madurai was locked intermittently during this search; therefore, the search team were having access to records of ED in private; ransacked the entire office of ED,” it said in its complaint.