Tamil Nadu police wrap up overnight search at ED’s Madurai office, say seized ‘incriminating’ documents

Top sources in the state government said they would resist calls to hand over the investigation to a central agency.

Tiwari was arrested on Friday morning for allegedly taking a bribe from a government doctor. According to an official press release from the DVAC late on Friday night, Tiwari contacted him on October 29, 2023, citing a 2018 disproportionate assets case against the government doctor that had been disposed of by the Dindigul district branch of the DVAC. Tiwari allegedly claimed to have received instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office to reopen the inquiry, according to the DVAC statement.

According to officials, the doctor was then summoned to the ED office in Madurai on October 30, and was allegedly coerced into a car by Tiwari, who demanded a bribe of Rs 3 crore to avert legal action, later agreeing to accept Rs 51 lakh. The first instalment of Rs 20 lakh was allegedly handed over on November 1. The doctor then made a complaint to the DVAC, leading to the operation that culminated in Tiwari’s arrest.

This comes amid the ED’s reopening of several cases handled by the DVAC in the past. Most of these cases involve ministers in the DMK government as well as state government officials. One such case led to the arrest and imprisonment of minister V Senthil Balaji.

According to the DVAC statement, in searches following Tiwari’s arrest, officials seized documents that allegedly point to Tiwari’s possible involvement in blackmailing or threatening other officials using similar tactics. Further investigations are underway, the statement said.

Regarding the search at the ED’s Madurai office, a DVAC official said: “Initially, they said we cannot search and asked us to wait for permission. But when we showed them the warrant and clarified that we had come to search Tiwari’s office and not the entire office, they agreed.” Security has been tightened at the ED’s office in Chennai.