The central probe agency categorically stated that Ashok Kumar had neither been detained nor been arrested.
Published Aug 15, 2023 | 6:01 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 15, 2023 | 6:02 PM
The ED also stated that Ashok had never joined the investigation and has refused to appear before ED in response to the four summons issued, citing frivolous inconsequential excuses.
Confusion prevailed over the reported arrest of RV Ashok Kumar, brother of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) denying that it had picked him up from Kochi in the Ernakulam district of Kerala.
On Sunday, 13 August, news reports said that the ED had arrested Kumar from Kochi in the cash-for-jobs scam, in which Balaji was arrested on 14 June.
Reports also said that Kumar was taken to Chennai, where he would be produced before the sessions court on Monday.
However, the central agency’s standing counsel expressed ignorance over the arrest on Monday. The ED also issued a statement contradicting the news reports.
“A false news report that Shri R V Ashok Kumar, brother of Shri Senthil Balaji (Ex-Minister and MLA) has been detained in Kochi, Kerala, by the Directorate of Enforcement is being reported by multiple news sources. It is clarified that Shri R V Ashok Kumar has neither been detained nor been arrested by ED,” the agency said in the statement.
Balaji, who held the Electricity, Prohibition, and Excise portfolio in the MK Stalin Cabinet, has been retained as a minister without portfolio ever since his arrest.
The ED also stated that Ashok had never joined the investigation and had been refusing to appear before it despite being issued summonses.
The ED issued him four summonses — on 16 June, 21 June, 29 June, and 15 July. He cited “frivolous inconsequential excuses” to avoid appearing before the agency, it said.
Kumar’s wife Nirmala, and mother-in-law P Lakshmi, also did not comply with the individual summons.
“It is significant to note that evidence indicates that all three individuals played pivotal roles in layering and integrating the proceeds of crimes,” the ED said.
Balaji’s supporters in Karur said they too heard about Kumar’s arrest in Kochi on Sunday.
“Ashok has a business tie-up with a construction company in Kochi, which played a role in the construction of the bungalow that is being built on the bypass road,” DMK functionary K Mathivannan told South First.
He believed the news of the arrest because of Kumar’s link with the Kochi-based firm. “But with the ED denying the arrest, we are confused,” he added.
Mathivannan also said that if a person was arrested, his relatives should be informed. “Since Kumar’s wife and mother-in-law are also absconding, there is no one in the family to provide any information about him,” he added.
The DMK’s advocates’ wing, too, appeared clueless over whether Kumar had been detained.
“Ashok might have been detained, but the agency is keeping it a secret for some reason. Through its statement, the ED had closed the door for his family members to approach the court with a habeas corpus petition. But this is merely a speculation. As of now, we have to go by the ED’s version,” a member of the DMK’s advocate wing told South First.
Ashok has been arraigned as the second accused in the cash-for-job scam that took place when Balaji was the minister for transport in the AIADMK-led government between 2011 and 2015.
Even during the recent interrogation, Balaji reportedly told the ED that his brother was handling most of his financial transactions.
