Arrested ED officer Ankit Tiwari update: DVAC finds 75 names from the laptop of accused

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) arrested an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer, Ankit Tiwari, for taking a Rs 20-lakh bribe from a doctor who was an accused in an ongoing money-laundering investigation. The ED officer had reportedly asked for a further bribe of Rs 31 lakh from the doctor. Ankit Tiwari is a sub-zonal officer from the Madurai branch of ED.

Following the arrest, the DVAC interrogated Ankit Tiwari for over 20 hours, following which he was produced before the Dindigul district magistrate who granted a two-day custody.

The DVAC had requested the court to grant three days of custody for Ankit Tiwari further investigation, but was granted only two days. 

Ankit Tiwari was then taken by the DVAC officers for interrogation.

Petition to move case to CBI dismissed

Meanwhile, a petition was moved in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court by an advocate called Vivek requesting the court to transfer the investigation from the DVAC to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Justices M Sundar Sakthivel who heard the petition, dismissed it.

At this point, Ankit Tiwari’s defence moved a bail plea in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court. This petition was taken for hearing by the court on Tuesday. Justice V Sivagnanam, who heard the case, asked the DVAC to put forth their argument.

While arguing on behalf of the DVAC, Hasan Mohammed Jinnah, the Tamil Nadu Government’s state public prosecutor for crime investigations, submitted shocking pieces of information that were revealed during the investigation conducted by the DVAC. This information was extracted from the laptop that belonged to Ankit Tiwari, which was retrieved from the ED office in Madurai.

Advocate Jinnah stated, “During the initial investigations with Ankit Tiwari, the DVAC had found out that several other officers are also in connection with this case. Later, while investigating his laptop, the names of almost 75 people have been discovered by the DVAC. Therefore, granting him bail at this point would be completely unacceptable because that would hinder the investigation. Rather, the DVAC would need more time to interrogate him to unleash more information.”

After hearing the arguments from both the sides, Justice V. Sivagnanam has reserved the orders for tomorrow.