Video: ED cop caught taking Rs 20 lakh bribe by vigilant sleuths in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul, arrested
An Enforcement Directorate official, Ankit Tiwari, was arrested by DVAC sleuths after he was caught taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a doctor in Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu News: Vigilant sleuths arrested an Enforcement Directorate officer after he was caught ‘red-handed’ while taking a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a doctor in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district. According to police, an ED officer, identified as Ankit Tiwari, was caught by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) officials while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a doctor in an unspecified case.
“ED officer Ankit Tiwari was ‘caught red-handed’ by DVAC sleuths after receiving Rs 20 lakh in bribe from the doctor,” police sources said on Friday, according to a PTI report.
#WATCH | Tamilnadu | ED officer Ankit Tiwari has been taken out of the DVAC office to be produced before a judicial magistrate in Dindigul.
He was caught red-handed when he took a bribe of Rs 20 lakhs from a doctor in Dindigul. He along with his team of ED officers… pic.twitter.com/F8JTReQnQq
— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2023
The matter in connection with which the ED official allegedly accepted the bribe is not immediately known. The action was taken after the doctor preferred to file a complaint with the DVAC and Tiwari is currently being questioned by the DVAC sleuths, sources said.
According to an official press release from the DVAC, Tiwari, who was stationed at the emergency office in Madurai, contacted the doctor and told him that a case had been registered against him with the vigilance department but it had been disposed of.
The accused officer claimed that the ED had received instructions from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to conduct an inquiry in the said case and asked him to appear at the agency’s office in Madurai on October 30.
“Accordingly, when the government official went to Madurai, Ankit Tiwari boarded the government official’s car and negotiated that he would pay Rs.3 crore to avoid legal action in the case. Later, he said that he spoke to his superiors and as per their directions, he agreed to collect Rs.51 lakh as bribe,” the release said, adding that the doctor paid him Rs 20 lakhs on November 1 as first installment of the bribe.
“Later, Tiwari intimidated the employee several times through WhatsApp calls and text messages that he should pay the entire amount of Rs. 51 lakh, otherwise he would face dire consequences. Suspicious about his activities, the government official filed a complaint with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Unit of Dindigul District on November 30, 2023,” the report said.
“Today (01.12.2023) morning, the sleuths of V&AC nabbed Ankit Tiwari after he received Rs.20 lakhs as bribe from the complainant. He was subsequently arrested at 10.30am under the Prevention of Corruption Act,” the press release said.
According to the release, the DVAC said its investigators seized several incriminating documents from the accused officer.
VIDEO | ED official Ankit Tiwari, arrested earlier today by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in a bribery case, was produced before Dindigul Chief Justice Mohana. Tiwari has been in pre-trial detention for fifteen days. pic.twitter.com/BrX4UF8rfL
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 1, 2023
“Investigations are on to clarify whether he blackmailed/threatened other officials who adopted this modus operandi and collected millions of money in the name of Enforcement Directorate. An inquiry will also be conducted to determine the possible involvement of other ED officials in the plot.”
After he was taken into custody in Dindigul, a team of DVAC officials conducted ‘investigations’ at the sub-zone ED office in Madurai, while state police officers stood guard outside the central government office.
Citing sources in the DVAC, a special anti-corruption unit of the Tamil Nadu Police, the report said searches were conducted at a premises linked to the accused officer.
“Our sleuths are conducting searches at Ankit Tiwari’s residence and his Enforcement Directorate office in Madurai. Further searches will be conducted at the places linked to Ankit Tiwari,” the anti-corruption bureau said in a statement.
VIDEO | The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption raided the ED office in Madurai earlier today in connection with the case of Ankit Tiwari, an ED officer, who was arrested for allegedly demanding and taking bribes. pic.twitter.com/OB5Tu9tUk9
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 1, 2023
After the arrival of DVAC sleuths at the central agency office, Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel were deployed by the authorities inside the ED office as a ‘security measure’.
The presence of the state police and the Central Police Force (ITBP, under the Central Armed Police) simultaneously created some commotion in the Madurai district.
After his arrest by the DVAC, Ankit Tiwari was produced before Dindigul Chief Magistrate Mohana, who sentenced the suspect to 15 days in judicial custody.