T.N. Minister Ponmudy summoned by ED for second round of questioning
The Hindu
ED probes TN Min. K. Ponmudy & son P. Gautham Sigamani in money laundering case. Summoned for questioning for 2nd consecutive day. Searches conducted at their residences, documents, cash & jewellery seized. FD of ₹41.9 crore frozen & 2 luxury cars seized.
After the first round of questioning of Tamil Nadu Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) concluded in the early hours of Tuesday, July 18, 2023 in connection with a money laundering case, the agency has summoned him and his son and DMK MP P. Gautham Sigamani again in the evening.
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Mr. Ponmudy is one of the senior most Ministers in the Cabinet headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. He is the second Minister who has come under the lens of the ED in recent times, the first one being V. Senthilbalaji.
On Monday night, Mr. Ponmudy and his son Mr. Gautham were taken for questioning by ED officers to their office in Nungambakkam and the duo’s statements were recorded.
This first session of questioning which began at 8.15 p.m. on Monday, July 17, lasted until 3 am of Tuesday. At the end of questioning, the Minister and his son left the ED office and the ED officials refused to respond to the questions of reporters who had gathered.
Sources added that the ED has summoned them for further questioning for the second consecutive day at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
The present probe by the ED relates to a corruption case booked against the Minister by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in 2012 for allegedly abusing his position when he was the Minister for Mines and Mineral Resources between 2007 and 2011. He was charged of obtaining quarry licences in favour of his son, friends and relatives, during that period. The Minister’s son P. Gautham Sigamani is the second accused in the case.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), group in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed to the synod-recommended Mass, rejected a circular issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and apostolic administrator Bosco Puthur on June 9 to implement the unified Mass in the archdiocese from July 3.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.