Senthilbalaji seeks anticipatory bail in ₹35-crore MLA bribery case
DMK Minister and incumbent Coimbatore South MLA V. Senthilbalaji has approached the Madras High Court, seeking anticipatory bail in the TVK MLA bribery case. The
DMK Minister and incumbent Coimbatore South MLA V. Senthilbalaji has approached the Madras High Court, seeking anticipatory bail in the TVK MLA bribery case. The advance bail petition is expected to be listed for hearing before Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan, holding the MP/MLA portfolio, on Wednesday (July 8), when an anticipatory bail petition filed by Mr. Senthilbalaji’s brother R.V. Ashok Kumar in the same case is also expected to be listed for hearing. In his petition, the former Minister contended that his name does not figure in the FIR registered by the Greater Chennai Police regarding the alleged bribe offered to the MLA, and yet, the police were trying to drag him into the case due to political motives.
The case relates to the FIR registered by the Triplicane police in Chennai on June 30, on the basis of a complaint lodged by TVK MLA N. Elaiyaraja, representing the Uthangarai constituency, on June 29. The MLA had alleged that he was offered a bribe of ₹35 crore. According to the complainant, he had received a phone call on June 26. The caller identified himself as Thirunavukarasu, of a private entity named Indian Political Democratic Strategies, involved in conducting political surveys, and insisted on meeting the MLA in person to discuss an “irresistible offer from an important party”. However, the MLA reportedly told the caller it would not be possible to meet him in person, and asked him to proceed with the discussion on the phone.
The caller continued to insist on meeting the MLA in person, forcing the latter to end the call. Thereafter, the MLA received several calls from the same number through WhatsApp, but did not pick them up. Finally, when the MLA picked up one of those calls, the caller reportedly told him “the TVK-led government would not last long”. The caller also said that there was a plan to move a resolution against Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar, and that the MLA would be given ₹35 crore if he agrees to vote against the TVK whip when the resolution is moved in the House. The MLA was also told that three others – Naresh, Krishnan, and Ashok Kumar – would meet him if he agreed to the deal.
The legislator claimed that when he said he was not inclined to agree to any such deal, the caller threatened him, saying he and his family members would face consequences if their conversation gets leaked. After the threatening phone call, the MLA had lodged the complaint along with screenshots of the WhatsApp call history on his mobile phone. The Greater Chennai Police undertook a preliminary inquiry on the basis of the complaint and then registered the FIR against all four named individuals under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as well as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The BriefWire