Former TN transport minister moves court seeking bail

Former Tamil Nadu Transport Minister V Senthil Balaji has moved the Madras High Court, seeking anticipatory bail in connection with a criminal case of job racketeering registered against him by police.
The bail application is likely to be taken up for hearing tomorrow.
Balaji served as the transport minister from May 2011 to July 2015.
He was also among the 18 MLAs disqualified by the Tamil Nadu Assembly speaker on September 18.
The MLAs were disqualified under the anti-defection law, weeks after they met the state governor and expressed lack of confidence in the chief minister.
Balaji submitted that one Arul Mani, claiming to be employed in the Metropolitan Transport corporation, filed a complaint with the police on September 21, alleging that he gave Rs 40 lakh, collected from various people, to his (Balaji) associates at his house here.

The complainant alleged that the money was collected on the assurance that the people would be employed in the state transport corporation.

Since the minister and his associates failed to provide jobs as promised, the complaint was filed.
Claiming that the allegation was wholly unjustified, Balaji said a similar complaint was filed by one Ganesh Kumar, also an employee of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC).
"But after a detailed consideration, the high court had granted me advance bail in the case," he said.
He alleged that all such complaints were being foisted against him since the present government wanted to 'wreck vengeance' against him.