CHENNAI: A special court for cases relating to MPs and MLAs in Chennai on Monday gave a copy of the Enforcement Directorate chargesheet to arrested DMK minister V Senthil Balaji in a money laundering case. Special Judge K Ravi, before whom Balaji was produced physically by the jail authorities, furnished the 3,000-page chargesheet, including documents filed by the ED earlier. The judge, who extended Balaji’s judicial custody till September 15, granted exemption from making personal appearance and allowed the minister to appear for the next hearing through video conference.
The minister, arrested by the central agency in an alleged ‘cash for jobs’ case, is currently lodged in Puzhal central prison. The case was filed in an alleged job racket scam that took place during 2014-2015 when Senthil Balaji was transport minister under AIADMK government.
“During the ED investigation, a bank statement analysis revealed huge cash deposits in the bank accounts of the minister and his wife Megala. When confronted, he failed to rebut the same and remained non-cooperative during the investigation,” the agency had earlier said in a statement.
The special judge on Monday also directed the minister’s counsel to file his bail petition before the principal sessions judge saying that his court lacked jurisdiction to hear the bail plea. “We will go through the chargesheet thoroughly and proceed with the case. Meanwhile, we will also file the bail petition before the principal sessions court,” Balaji’s counsel NR Elango said.