The Madras High Court today ordered arrested Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji to be shifted to a private hospital at his own cost. Mr Balaji was arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate yesterday.
He was advised a bypass surgery by doctors at a government hospital in Chennai after an angiogram revealed a triple-vessel disease during his medical check-up.
The high court has permitted ED-appointed doctors to visit him at Kauvery Hospital, the private hospital where he will be shifted.
The central agency has sought two-week judicial custody of the minister, opposing his bail on the grounds that he could tamper or destroy evidence. Mr Balaji's bail request in pending in another court.
The money laundering case pertains to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam when Mr Balaji was the transport minister in former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's (AIADMK) cabinet in 2015.
The minister faces charges of having received kickbacks from many people whom he had promised government jobs. A case was registered following complaints from the alleged victims.
No significant action was taken against him till AIADMK was in power till 2021. He struck a deal with the victims when he switched to the DMK and became a minister in the MK Stalin government.
The Madras High Court had earlier stayed proceedings in the case but the Supreme Court overturned it and ordered probe into the corruption charges, allowing the ED to continue its proceedings.
Chief Minister MK Stalin called the 18-hour search and interrogation in a 10-year-old case "an unannounced emergency" that "triggered a heart disease" for Mr Balaji.
"Don't provoke us. If you provoke the DMK cadre, you'll not be able to bear it. This is not intimidation, but a word of caution. The BJP should stop its dictatorial action and understand its responsibility to govern the union," added Mr Stalin.
State BJP chief K Annamalai denied the charges said the minister was arrested as per the Supreme Court's directive. "This ought to have happened many years ago," he added.
