CHENNAI: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday brought to light the modus operandi where a benami of electricity minister Senthil Balaji allegedly acquired a land of value exceeding Rs 25 crore for just Rs 10.88 lakh. The benami individual was used to create a facade to obscure the true owner of the property, the ED said.
The ED also said investigations revealed that a certain individual named Anuradha Ramesh, who hails from a business family, mortgaged 3.75-acre land and obtained bank loans exceeding Rs 40 crore in multiple transactions between 2014 and 2021. The bank conservatively valued the land at Rs 9 crore in 2016, but its current value is estimated to be more than Rs 25 crore.
Subsequently, this land was sold to a benami of Senthil Balaji for a meagre amount of Rs 10.88 lakh. This raised suspicions regarding the source of funds used for repaying the loans taken by Anuradha, particularly as the loan repayment occurred just before the land sale. As a result, further investigation is underway to ascertain the original source of these payments, the ED said.
“Moreover, it came to light that the aforementioned land had initially been purchased by Lakshmi who has never filed income tax returns or wealth tax returns. An income tax return was filed solely for the year of the land’s purchase, indicating a sum of Rs 10 lakh derived from the sale of old jewellery. However, the transaction with the jeweller appears to be fabricated.
Subsequently, Lakshmi gifted the land to her daughter Nirmala who is the sister-in-law of Senthil Balaji,” the agency said. The central agency also said three First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed in the case. The FIRs were filed against Balaji, his brother Ashok Kumar, his personal assistant Shanmugam, and others for taking cash in exchange for providing jobs in the transport department during the period between 2011 and 2015 when he was the transport minister in the AIADMK government.
TN govt withdraws consent for CBI to probe in state
Chennai: Amid war of words with the union government over misuse of central probe agencies, the Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday withdrew the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for conducting investigation in Tamil Nadu without obtaining prior permission of the state government. The state withdrew the general consent given to the CBI in 1989 and 1992 with regard to certain categories of cases. An official release said the governments of West Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala, Mizoram, Punjab, and Telangana have already issued such orders. As per Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, the CBI should obtain prior permission from the state governments for conducting inquiries.