ED arrests minister in TN, political row erupts

Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji was sent to judicial remand till June 28 by a Chennai district judge on Wednesday hours after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over money laundering charges in a 20112015 corruption case and was subsequently admitted to a Chennai hospital, where doctors recommended an immediate heart surgery.

- Divya Chandrababu

CHENNAI: The arrest drew sharp reactions from Opposition parties, with the Congress, DMK and others criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre for misusing federal probe agencies. According to ED officials, Balaji was arrested after Tuesday midnight and was taken to Chennai's Omandurar government hospital, where he was seen lying in an ambulance, crying, holding his chest and covering his face. He was dragged on to a stretcher past 2.30am and taken inside the hospital, videos showed.

Doctors at the hospital did an angiogram at 10.30am and said he has been diagnosed with a heart disease (called triple vessel disease) and advised a coronary artery bypass surgery at the "earliest", according to the hospital. ED officials called on the doctors later.

Senior advocate and DMK MP NR Elango filed a habeas corpus petition before a bench of justices M Sundar and R Sakthivel of the Madras high court, saying the minister was arrested without following due procedure such as issuing summons.

At about 2.30pm, justice Sakthivel recused himself from the hearing.

An hour later, principal district judge A Alli head ED's remand application in the hospital and remanded him to judicial custody until June 28 while allowing him to continue treatment in the hospital, said an official in the know of the developments. At about 5pm, Elango argued for bail to Balaji at the chambers of district judge A Alli, which ED opposed. The judge reserved her order. ED also filed another petition seeking custody of Balaji, which is likely to be heard on June 15.