The Enforcement Directorate has filed a complaint with the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police, Shankar Jiwal, accusing the state’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department (DVAC) of conducting an illegal raid on its Madurai Sub-Zonal office. The complaint, filed by Brijesh Beniwal, Assistant Director of the ED in Madurai, outlines a series of allegations against the DVAC and “unknown” persons involved in the raid.
On Friday, Tamil Nadu Police had arrested a senior officer of the ED on bribery charges after an eight-kilometre chase on the Dindigul-Madurai highway. Officers of the state’s DVAC had also raided the ED’s Madurai office as well as Tiwari’s residence.
Beniwal’s complaint begins with an alleged account of the raid: “On December 1, around 1.15 pm, two persons suspiciously came to ED Madurai Office, claiming to be IB Officers.” It alleges that around 35 people, including those in civilian clothes claiming to be police officers, “forcefully entered the ED office, Madurai”.
“No search warrant whatsoever was shown,” Beniwal wrote. “The search was conducted in an unprofessional and illegal manner.” The raiding team failed to produce ID cards or search warrant documents, the complaint alleged, adding: “Various sensitive case records (and) files related to matters other than the case basis were verified by them.”
The complaint said the ED office was occupied by these individuals from the afternoon of December 1 to the early morning of December 2. The complaint, written on December 2, highlighted the extended presence of the DVAC team and others, stating that “the persons kept on sitting idle from 1 pm to 4 pm today without telling us any justification and reasons”. “Search was conducted in an illegal manner and many times closing the door room also,” Beniwal wrote.
The ED also raised concerns about the potential misuse of documents accessed and copied during the raid.
The ED sought the registration of an FIR against DVAC officials and all persons who entered its office unauthorisedly. The alleged offences, as per the ED, include criminal trespass, intimidation, illegal access to sensitive records, and theft of documents.
Tamil Nadu police are yet to respond to the ED’s complaint.
Arun Janardhanan… read more
