In another blow to the DMK, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has reportedly approved the prosecution proposal against former minister V. Senthil Balaji in the alleged cash-for-jobs scam, and the TVK government has accordingly sent the file to Governor RV Arlekar seeking the required sanction.
According to media reports, the file was sent to Raj Bhavan early this week soon after CM Vijay gave the green signal to proceed. It is learnt that, “The previous DMK government, in an effort to protect him, kept the file without acting on it. The Governor’s sanction was needed as he was a minister. The Governor is the sanctioning authority. If he approves, a government order will be issued soon.”
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint under the PMLA before a court against Senthil Balaji, alleging money laundering linked to the cash-for-jobs scam in the State Transport Corporation when he was a minister during the AIADMK rule between 2011 and 2016. In May last year, the ED sought permission from then Governor RN Ravi to prosecute him. The file was forwarded to the DMK government for its action. In October, the DMK government returned the file with a note stating that it should have been sent directly to the government instead of Raj Bhavan. The ED, in a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M. Saikumar in May, said the sanction process was being delayed because Senthil Balaji was part of the earlier DMK government.
It is learnt that not only Senthil Balaji’s file, but files relating to similar requests, have also been pending with Raj Bhavan. It is well settled in law that the appointing authority, in this case the Governor, should accord sanction. In former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa’s case, the Governor gave the nod.
Critics feel that TVK leader Vijay, who said during the polls that it would be a fight between evil forces and TVK and that the DMK was the political enemy, is now taking a different approach. They argue that the earlier AIADMK regime did not seriously pursue any scam cases against DMK leaders. It is one way to keep the DMK under pressure; otherwise, it may create trouble for the TVK government.
In another development, Tamil Nadu Police arrested two persons in connection with the theft of hard disks from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) office. A 31-year-old technician, Gopinath of Arakkonam, employed by a private firm contracted by TNEB, was arrested under BNS Section 305 on Thursday for allegedly stealing 18 hard disks containing official data from the TNEB headquarters in Chennai. Police said they have recovered all 18 hard disks. He allegedly sold the disks after formatting them for Rs 75,000 on May 21. Based on the information, police arrested electronics shop owner Murali Manohar (33) from Bengaluru.
It is learnt that Gopinath stole the hard disks on May 16 and 17 this year. Each disk, valued at Rs 20,000, was allegedly sold for just Rs 2,500. A total of 34 hard disks and 20 RAM modules were recovered from them on June 5.
Police on Friday said two men have been arrested in connection with the theft of hard disks from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) headquarters, and 34 stolen hard disks have been recovered from them. #news #chennai #tneb #harddisk #chennailive pic.twitter.com/jSUT9XVg3h
— Chennai Live Digital 104.8 (@chennailive1048) June 6, 2026
YouTuber Savukku Sankar, in a post, questioned the State government’s action. He said, “Instead of registering a case under Section 241 of the BNS for destruction of evidence and handing over the investigation to a specialised agency, this case is being treated as a petty theft by the State government. There is a lot more than what meets the eye here.”
Instead of registering case under 241 of BNS for destruction of evidence, and handing over the investigation to a specialised agency, this case is treated as a petty theft by the state government.
There is a lot more than what meets the eye here. pic.twitter.com/TV2LEsPrej
— Savukku Shankar (@SavukkuOfficial) June 6, 2026
Gopinath has been working as a technician at the TNEB headquarters for the last 11 months, handling the repair and maintenance of computer hardware and software systems. Critics say he has been made a scapegoat. They argue that it is highly unlikely that hard disks could be stolen from the highly secured TNEB headquarters and allege that some political bigwigs, in an attempt to destroy evidence, may have been involved. Officials said the police have seized a laptop and a pen drive from Gopinath and sent them for forensic examination.
Cyber experts said government data is generally stored in secure data centres connected through National Informatics Centre infrastructure. Moreover, the ED and other Central agencies already possess the data collected during raids.
