Officials of the Enforcement Directorate on Monday took custody of Minister V Senthil Balaji from the central prison here for questioning in a money laundering case, after a court granted custody to the agency, following the dismissal of related petitions by the Supreme Court.
Senthil Balaji, who was lodged in the Puzhal Central Prison, was taken into custody by ED officials. He was taken to the agency's office here, with personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces providing security.
A sessions court here granted the ED custody of Senthil Balaji till August 12. The ED had filed a petition seeking custody of Balaji for five days to question him in the case.
Earlier, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed by Senthil Balaji and his wife challenging a Madras High Court order upholding his arrest in the case.
The minister was arrested in June by the ED and he was remanded to judicial custody. Soon after his arrest, he took ill and later underwent coronary bypass surgery in a private hospital.
