NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu politician TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) linked to alleged bribing of Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK’s ‘two leaves’ symbol for the VK Sasikala faction, officials said.
The case involves conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, who was arrested by the ED in the case.
According to top ED officials, Dhinakaran, who is also the general secretary of AMMK, arrived at ED headquarters here around 11.30 am. His statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Dhinakaran was earlier asked by the agency to appear on April 8 but he had sought another date.
Dhinakaran is the nephew of ousted AIADMK leader Sasikala. The AIADMK had split into two factions after the death of its chief J Jayalalithaa in 2016.
TN leader TTV Dhinakaran arrives at ED headquarters in connection with Sukesh Chandrasekhar and EC officials bribery case @TTVDhinakaran pic.twitter.com/fLDR4djIaC
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) April 12, 2022
The development comes days after the agency sleuths questioned Chandrasekhar in a five-year-old cheating case. He was arrested by the ED in connection with the bribery of Election Commission officials last week.
As per the ED officials, in 2017, Chandrashekhar had assured Dhinakaran that he would get the AIADMK’s two-leaf symbol for his faction, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), if he paid Rs 50 crore.
The conman had allegedly told Dhinakaran that the Rs 50 crore would be used to bribe and influence Election Commission officials. Dhinakaran even paid around Rs 2 crore to Sukesh before the Delhi Police got wind of the conspiracy and arrested Chandrasekhar.
Later, Dhinakaran was also named as an accused in the case and arrested by the Delhi Police.
The ED last year arrested Chandrasekhar for extorting Rs 215 crore from a Delhi businessman’s wife by impersonating officials of the Home Ministry and Law Ministry.
Chandrashekar was taken into ED custody on Monday, April 4. The ED has been granted seven days’ custody of Chandrasekhar in the cheating case involving Dhinakaran.