CHENNAI: Former minister V Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok Kumar appeared before the Triplicane police on Saturday and were questioned separately for over two-and-a-half hours in connection with the alleged attempt to influence TVK MLA N Ilaiyaraja.
The duo appeared before the investigating officer in compliance with the anticipatory bail conditions imposed by the court. Police have so far arrested 14 persons in the case and suspect that Senthil Balaji and Ashok Kumar were part of the alleged conspiracy.
As per the bail conditions, both were directed to furnish sureties within 15 days and appear before the investigating officer at the Triplicane police station every morning and evening.
Police sources said Senthil Balaji signed the station register in connection with the TVK MLA poaching case. Ashok Kumar, however, did not sign in as he is yet to furnish the court-mandated surety. Instead, he marked attendance in compliance with the conditions for the anticipatory bail granted to him in a separate case related to the alleged assault of an income tax official in Karur.
After completing the attendance formalities, the brothers were questioned separately by an investigation team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police V Jayachandran.
After the inquiry, Senthil Balaji left the police station without interacting with the media.
When asked about the questioning and whether he had been threatened during the interrogation, he said, “I do not wish to speak about this right now. I will meet you later.”