ED officer arrested: Tamil Nadu Police searches Madurai office. Who is Ankit Tiwari?
Officials of the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) continued their search at the Enforcement Directorate sub-zonal office in Madurai throughout Friday night after arresting ED officer Ankit Tiwari in connection with a bribery case.
Ankit Tiwari was on Friday allegedly caught “red-handed” while accepting a bribe of ₹20 lakh from a doctor in the Dindigul district.
Top updates on ED officer Ankit Tiwari’s arrest:
According to DAVC officials, Ankit Tiwari, along with his team of ED officers, had been threatening several people and receiving bribes in the name of closing their case in the Enforcement Directorate.
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.
Earlier, after the arrival of DVAC sleuths at the office of the central agency in Madurai, Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel were deployed by authorities inside the ED office as a ‘security’ measure, news agency PTI reported.
DVAC officials caught him with ₹20 lakh cash in Dindigul. The DVAC also held a search at the ED office in Madurai.
Who is ED officer Ankit Tiwari?
Ankit Tiwari is a 2016-batch officer and has previously served in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. According to an official release issued by DVAC Chennai, Tiwari is serving as an enforcement officer in the Madurai Enforcement Department office of the Union government.
In October, Tiwari contacted a government doctor 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 doctor to appear before the ED office at Madurai on October 30, the DVAC said.
When the doctor went to Madurai, Tiwari asked him to pay ₹3 crore to avoid legal action in the case, the DVAC alleged. “Later, he said he had spoken to his superiors and as per their directions, he agreed to collect ₹51 lakh as bribe.
On November 1, the said doctor had given him ₹20 lakh as a 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 ₹51 lakh, otherwise he would face dire consequences,” the release said.
The government doctor lodged a complaint at the Dindigul district Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Unit on Thursday.
On Friday, the sleuths of DVAC caught Ankit Tiwari after he received ₹20 lakh as a 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 DVAC said.
The complainant had been embroiled in a disproportionate assets case registered in 2018. The proceedings of the case had been completed with the doctor facing departmental action. However, in early November, he was summoned by the ED’s Madurai office.
The DAVC statement said enquiry will also be conducted to ascertain the possible involvement of other ED officials. It added that vigilance authorities were conducting searches at the residence of Tiwari and his ED office in Madurai. “Further searches will be conducted at the places associated with Ankit Tiwari,” the release said.
“An investigation is being probed to elucidate whether he blackmailed or threatened any other officials adopting this modus operandi and collected money in the name of the ED,” the DAVC said.
Tamil Nadu govt vs ED
The arrest of Ankit Tiwari comes amid the Tamil Nadu government accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government of using the ED and Income Tax department to “harass” its officials and elected representatives ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The ED did not immediately respond to the arrest.