Who Is Ankit Tiwari? ED Officer, Detained For Alleged Bribery; Tamil Nadu Police Raids Madurai Office

An Enforcement Directorate officer was arrested for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a a government employee, the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), said on Friday.

After he was taken into custody in Dindigul, a team of the DVAC officials held 'enquiries' at the sub-zone ED office in Madurai, with state policemen standing guard outside the central government office.

An official release from DVAC identified the arrested official as Ankit Tiwari, "serving as an Enforcement Officer in the Madurai Enforcement Department office of the Union Government."

Who is Ankit Tiwari, the ED officer?

• Ankit Tiwari is a 2016-batch officer who previously served in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. According to an official release by DVAC Chennai, Tiwari is an enforcement officer at the Madurai Enforcement Department office under the Union government.
• In October, Tiwari contacted a government doctor in Dindigul regarding a vigilance case supposedly closed in that district.
• Tiwari allegedly informed the doctor that an enquiry was mandated by the Prime Minister's Office and demanded Rs 3 crore to avoid legal actions. Subsequently, he agreed to collect Rs 51 lakh as a bribe, intimating the doctor through WhatsApp calls and texts.
• On November 1, Tiwari reportedly received Rs 20 lakh as the first installment of the bribe. He continued to pressure the doctor to pay the full amount, threatening dire consequences if he didn't comply.
• The doctor filed a complaint with the Dindigul district Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Unit on Thursday.
• On Friday, DVAC investigators caught Tiwari after he accepted Rs 20 lakh as a bribe from the complainant.
• He was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act at 10.30 am. The DVAC seized incriminating documents and is investigating if he blackmailed/threatened other officials in the name of the Enforcement Directorate.
• The complainant was involved in a disproportionate assets case from 2018, which concluded with departmental action against the doctor. However, in early November, the doctor was summoned by the ED's Madurai office.
• The DVAC stated that an inquiry would ascertain potential involvement of other ED officials. Searches were ongoing at Tiwari's residence and ED office in Madurai. Further searches related to Tiwari were planned, as per the release. "The investigation aims to determine if he used similar tactics to extort money in the name of the ED from other officials," the DVAC mentioned.
• Ankit Tiwari's arrest surfaces amidst allegations by the Tamil Nadu government, accusing the BJP-led Union government of utilizing the ED and Income Tax department to harass its officials and elected representatives before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The ED had not responded immediately to the arrest.