Tamil Nadu anti-corruption watchdog 'raids' ED office in Madurai

In a dramatic turn of events, Tamil Nadu’s anti-corruption watchdog, Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), on Friday “raided” the Madurai sub zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after arresting the agency’s senior officer for accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a doctor, who was accused in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.

Ankit Tiwari, an Enforcement Officer with the Madurai sub-zonal division, was arrested by sleuths of the DVAC on Friday morning near a toll plaza on the Madurai-Dindigul highway, who also recovered Rs 20 lakh cash from the vehicle he was travelling in.

Hours after the arrest created shockwaves at a time the central agency was conducting raids on government functionaries in Tamil Nadu, DVAC officials swooped down on the premises of ED office in Madurai and the searches were continuing till the time of writing. Meanwhile, the arrested ED official was sent to 15-day judicial custody by a local court in Dindigul.

As speculation mounted that DVAC might conduct raids in the ED office in Chennai as well, paramilitary forces were deployed outside the premises. This is the second time that an officer with the ED has been arrested by a state police force for allegedly demanding bribes – in October, an ED official was taken into custody by the Rajasthan Police.

The “raids” by the DVAC inside the ED office is unprecedented and could open yet another front between the DMK dispensation and the BJP-led Union Government – three state ministers are already under the scanner of the ED, whose summons to five district collectors in a sand mining case was stayed by the Madras High Court on November 28.

An official statement from the DVAC said Tiwari contacted a Government employee, a doctor, and mentioned a case which was registered against him and subsequently disposed of.

“Further, Tiwari informed the employee that instructions had been received from the Prime Minister's Office to conduct an enquiry by the Enforcement Department in this case and asked the government employee to appear before the ED office in Madurai on 30.10.2023,” the DVAC said.

When the doctor went to Madurai, the DVAC said, Tiwari got into his car and sought Rs 3 crore as a bribe to escape from legal action but brought down the amount to Rs 51 lakh.

“On 01.11.2023, the said employee had given him Rs.20 lakhs as first instalment of bribe. Later, he intimidated the employee on several occasions through WhatsApp calls and text messages that he should pay the full amount of Rs 51 lakh, otherwise he would face dire consequences,” the statement added.

Suspicious over Tiwari’s activities, the doctor lodged a complaint with the Dindigul Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Unit, following which he was arrested.

The DVAC said it has recovered “several incriminating documents” regarding his misconduct and investigation is being done to find out whether he had blackmailed/threatened any other officials adopting this modus operandi and collected crores of money in the name of the ED.

“Enquiry will also be conducted to ascertain the involvement of other ED officials in the plot if any. V&AC sleuths are conducting searches at the residence of Ankit Tiwari and his Enforcement Directorate office at Madurai. Further searches will be conducted at the places associated with Ankit Tiwari,” the agency added.