In a shocking development, on Friday, December 1, a man claiming to be an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer was arrested in Dindigul on bribery charges. The man has been identified as Ankit Tiwari, and according to early reports, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) is now investigating if the man is indeed an ED official. Cash worth Rupees 20 lakhs has also been seized from him. Ankit was reportedly caught red-handed while taking a bribe of Rupees 20 lakhs from a doctor in Dindigul. The DVAC is yet to issue an official statement confirming the accused’s credentials.
According to police, Ankit and his team had intimidated and received bribes from multiple individuals saying that they would close the cases against them if bribes were paid.
Reports cite that the DVAC officials intercepted Ankit’s car on the Dindigul-Madurai National highway, where he was arrested. Tamil news channel Puthiyathalaimurai further reports that the DVAC received a secret tip-off before intercepting Ankit and discovering the cash. The Dindigul Superintendent of Police (SP) and Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), are currently conducting further investigations at the ED’s regional office in Dindigul.
It may be noted that the alleged bribery racket was discovered months after ED raids on Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders and their personal associates. Former minister for Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise V Senthil Balaji was arrested earlier this year by the ED in relation to his cash-for-jobs scam.
In July, Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi faced ED raids in his Villupuram home. Ponmudi is further under scrutiny after the Madras High Court reopened the case against him by DVAC relating to amassing assets disproportionate to his income.
Also in November this year, Rajasthan’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested two ED officials on bribery charges, a day after the central agency issued summons to the sons of the state Congress Committee Chief Govind Singh Dotasra. Govind’s sons, Abhilash and Avinash, had been summoned by the ED in relation to an exam paper leak scam.