Chennai: Enforcement Directorate officials have launched simultaneous search at the premises belonging to the Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji, others as part of a money laundering investigation in a cash for cash 'scam' case, officials said. The raid comes two days after the BJP supporters accused the minister of playing petty after the electricity tripped when the Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Chennai for a meeting.
The raids are underway at the Chennai official residence as well as other residences belonging to him across the state. Few of his relatives have also been brought under the ED blanket. Simultaneously, another team is carrying out raids at the residence of the Minister back in Karur district.
Sources said at least three locations were being searched in Karur district. Senthil Balaji who was out for a morning walk when the raids began met the media and maintained that he just got to know of the raids being underway at his premises.
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The minister also said that he would extend his full cooperation for the raid. He suggested the media to wait for sometime as he and would be able to explain the developments of the raid only after the searches are complete. "We do not know what their intent is. We would know it only when they explicitly make a charge," Senthilbalaji said.
Earlier, in May the Income Tax authorities launched a coordinated search across the state linked to Senthil Balaji. The searches were being held in cities including Karur and Coimbatore, at the premises of individuals allegedly linked to the minister, sources said without elaborating.
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The tax authorities searched locations belonging to some of the close relatives of the Minister and contractors were. Senthil Balaji, a turncoat from AIADMK and now a senior DMK leader from Karur, holds the Prohibition and Excise portfolio. The cash for jobs 'scam' purportedly unfolded when Senthil Balaji was a Transport Minister during the previous AIADMK regime.
