The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday took in DMK Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy for questioning after conducting searches for 13 hours in Chennai and Villupuram, in connection with an alleged money laundering case. His son and MP P. Gautham Sigamani was also taken in.
Mr. Ponmudy is the second Minister of Tamil Nadu to come under the radar of the ED. Earlier on June 14, Minister V. Senthilbalaji was arrested by the agency, also in a money laundering case.
In Chennai, officers of the ED, accompanied by armed personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), arrived at Mr. Ponmudy’s house in Saidapet around 7 a.m. and began inquiries with the Minister and his family members. Mr. Ponmudy’s supporters and lawyers gathered outside the house even as CRPF personnel stood guard around the premises. During the course of the search, the officers also seized certain documents from inside a car parked in the house.
