Ankit Tiwari, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer, was apprehended by Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) for allegedly accepting a ₹20 lakh bribe from a doctor in Dindigul. This arrest led to searches at the ED’s Madurai office, continuing throughout the night, as DVAC officials investigated the matter further.
According to DVAC sources, Ankit Tiwari, accompanied by his team, purportedly coerced individuals, accepting bribes under the guise of closing their cases within the Enforcement Directorate. The sequence of events unfolded as DVAC officials detained Tiwari in Dindigul, subsequently conducting inquiries at the ED’s Madurai office while state police guarded the federal premises.
Amidst these developments, ITBP personnel were deployed inside the ED office in Madurai following the DVAC’s arrival, as reported by news agency PTI, reinforcing security measures.
Ankit Tiwari, a 2016-batch officer, previously served in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. According to DVAC Chennai, Tiwari held the position of enforcement officer in the Madurai Enforcement Department office. The allegations against him suggest coercing a government doctor, intimating about a vigilance case and demanding ₹3 crore to evade legal action. The DVAC alleges Tiwari later settled for ₹51 lakh as a bribe, of which ₹20 lakh was received on November 1.
The ED officer’s arrest occurred after he accepted the initial bribe instalment of ₹20 lakh. The DVAC seized incriminating documents, probing possible misconduct by Tiwari and investigating potential threats or blackmail against other officials in the name of the Enforcement Directorate.
This development emerges amidst a larger political context, with the Tamil Nadu government accusing the BJP-led Union government of deploying agencies like the ED and Income Tax to allegedly target its officials and elected representatives ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Sources By Agencies