A Chennai sessions court on Tuesday extended the remand of former Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, until July 1, 2024.
Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, before whom Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the Central Puzhal Prison, extended his judicial custody till next Monday (July 1).
During the hearing, the central probe agency submitted its counter affidavits to three petitions filed by Senthil Balaji. The judge scheduled further hearing of these petitions for July 1.
Balaji, in one petition, requested a postponement of the current proceedings and sought an adjournment of the case to a later date.
In the other two petitions, the former minister requested the provision of missing documents pertaining to “Relied Upon Document Nos-16 and 17”- specifically copies of counterfoil challans related to his account, which were seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during its investigation.
On June 14, 2023, Balaji was arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the selection of bus conductors, drivers, and junior engineers within the Tamil Nadu Transport Department. These appointments took place during Balaji’s tenure as the Transport-Minister in All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government between 2011 and 2015. He later switched to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 2018.
