Chennai CCB adds PC act provisions in cases linked to Senthilbalaji

CHENNAI: Chennai city central crime branch (CCB), which is re-investigating the cases as per Supreme Court order against Minister Senthilbalaji, has added provisions under Prevention of Corruption act in two cash for job cases filed against Senthilbalaji in the years 2017 and 2018.

In the first case filed in the year 2015, the PC Act provisions were added by the investigators when the charge sheet was filed in March 2021.

It may be noted that the Supreme Court in its recent order noted that the provisions under PC act should be added in the other cases as well because those were not just cheating cases but corruption by the minister who was in power.

Senthilbalaji was transport minister for a period during the AIADMK regime from the year 2011 to 2016.

Due to allegations of corruption in the form of a cash-for-job scam, he was removed from the cabinet by then chief minister, J Jayalalithaa.

In May this year, while asking the CCB to reinvestigate the cases linked to Senthilbalaji, now a minister in DMK cabinet, the Apex court had also allowed enforcement directorate to probe the cash for job in which he was allegedly involved when he was minister in Jaya's cabinet.

ED sleuths, probing the scam, had arrested Senthilbalaji three weeks back under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering act and he is currently under judicial custody.