CHENNAI: Electricity Resources Minister R Nirmalkumar on Thursday said the alleged theft of hard disks from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) headquarters was under investigation and that police were probing the motive behind the incident, even as the department had begun securing and backing up sensitive records.
Addressing reporters, the Minister said the matter was first reported internally last month, following which the vigilance wing conducted a preliminary departmental inquiry before a complaint was lodged with the police.
He said police had secured some individuals for questioning and were continuing the investigation, with efforts under way to apprehend more suspects. "It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the motive or those involved while the investigation is in progress. The police will provide a complete report once the probe is over," he said.
Nirmalkumar said instructions had been issued to secure all documents and digital records at the headquarters and to take backups of sensitive data stored on computers and servers. The exercise includes records relating to tenders issued over the past five years, contract employees, coal procurement, solar and green energy approvals, and other key administrative files.
The Minister said authorities were also reviewing records connected to contracts awarded to private firms in thermal power stations and other electricity sector projects. He added that all sensitive data was being re-evaluated and validated as part of the exercise.
Referring to the transformer procurement case that has already been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Nirmalkumar said several officials had been suspended in recent months and that investigators were examining whether the hard disk theft could be linked to actions taken against certain individuals.
He declined to confirm reports that 18 hard disks were missing, saying a comprehensive audit was still under way. "There are several legacy systems, old servers and data repositories. We do not want to disclose numbers until the verification process is complete," he said.
The Minister said preliminary findings suggested the involvement of certain employees and that CCTV footage was being examined as part of the investigation. He asserted that no individual could intimidate or manipulate a government institution and warned of strict legal action against those found responsible.
Asked whether the theft was intended to destroy evidence linked to past irregularities, including the transformer procurement case, Nirmalkumar said investigators were examining what data may have been targeted and who stood to benefit from its disappearance.
He maintained that even if hard disks had been removed, relevant information could still be available in digital backups and physical records. "No one can assume they will escape accountability merely by taking away a hard disk," he said.
On speculation about the possible involvement of former officials or political figures, the Minister said it would be improper to draw conclusions before the completion of the investigation.
Responding to questions on recent power outages in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu, Nirmalkumar said the disruptions were unrelated to the hard disk theft case. He attributed many of the outages to infrastructure constraints, sudden drops in wind power generation, ageing transformers, cable faults and inadequate substation capacity.
The Minister said Tamil Nadu required around 250 additional substations to handle growing demand and acknowledged that infrastructure upgrades had lagged in recent years. He also pointed to staff shortages, claiming that only about 70,000 employees were working against a requirement of 1.4 lakh personnel.
He alleged that poor-quality coal procured in previous years had affected the efficiency of thermal power stations and contributed to operational issues. The government, he said, had begun corrective measures and was preparing long-term plans to strengthen the power sector.
"These issues cannot be resolved in a month. But we have started the process of identifying deficiencies and implementing corrective measures," he said.