Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) officials left from the Enforcement Directorate sub-zonal office in Madurai on Saturday morning after carrying searches in connection with the case involving ED officer Ankit Tiwari, who was caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakhs from a doctor in Dindigul on Friday.
Tamil Nadu DVAC carried out searches at ED Madurai office after Tiwari was arrested for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a government employee, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) said on Friday, as reported by news agency PTI.
On Friday, the sleuths of DVAC caught Ankit Tiwari after he received Rs 20 lakh as bribe from the complainant. "Subsequently, he was arrested at 10.30 am under Prevention of Corruption Act. It is pertinent to mention that the sleuths have seized several incriminating documents regarding his misconduct. Investigation is being done to elucidate whether he had blackmailed/ threatened any other officials adopting this modus operandi" and collected money in the name of Enforcement Directorate, the anti-graft agency of the Tamil Nadu government said.
After he was taken into custody in Dindigul, a team of the DVAC officials held 'enquiries' at the sub-zone ED office in Madurai, with state policemen standing guard outside the central government office, as reported by PTI. An official release from DVAC said that Tiwari was "serving as an Enforcement Officer in the Madurai Enforcement Department office of the Union Government."
In October, he contacted a Government employee from Dindigul and mentioned about a Vigilance case registered against him in that district which was "already disposed off." Tiwari "informed the employee that instructions had been received from the Prime Minister's Office to conduct an enquiry" and asked the government employee to appear before the ED office at Madurai on October 30, it said.
As per DVAC's allegations, when the man went to Madurai, Tiwari asked him to pay Rs 3 crore to avoid legal action in the case.
"Later, he said that he had spoken to his superiors and as per their directions, he agreed to collect Rs 51 lakh as bribe. On November 1, the said employee had given him Rs 20 lakh as first instalment of bribe. Later, he (Tiwari) intimidated the employee on several occasions through WhatsApp calls and text messages that he should pay the full amount of Rs 51 lakh, otherwise he would face dire consequences," the release stated.
The government employee grew suspicious and lodged a complaint at the Dindigul district Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Unit on Thursday, as per PTI.