Gutkha scam: CBI searches houses of TN Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar, DGP TK Rajendran

Investigators from the Central Bureau of Investigation, Delhi, on Wednesday, carried out searches at the residences of Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar, State Director General of Police TK Rajendran, former State Minister B V Ramana and retired DGP and former Chennai Police Commissioner S George and others in the city in connection with the sensational gutkha scam.

This is the first time that a serving TN DGP, who is heading the force, has come under the CBI scanner. Sources said that he may be summoned for a detailed inquiry to Delhi later. The searches came a week after the CBI grilled manufacturer of MDM brand gutkha AV Madhav Rao in connection with the scam. According to CBI officials, premises in around 35 locations, including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Thoothukudi, Puducherry, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Guntur, were searched in an on-going investigation relating to the gutkha scam.

“The places searched are residential premises of the Promoters/Directors of the Company and other public servants including officials of Sales Tax Department, Customs & Central Excise, Food Safety & Drug Administration Department and jurisdictional Police officials,” a CBI official said. Residence of DSP Mannar Mannan in T Nagar, who had earlier served as AC, Red Hills, where the godown functioned, was also searched by the CBI team. Residence of inspector of Sampath Kumar in Thoothukudi was also searched by the CBI. Sources said residences of police personnel who had been working with Rajendran and George were also searched.

Premises of three officials – Dr Senthil Murugan, Dr Lakshmi Narayanan and E Shivakumar – from Food Safety Department and three – R Gulazar Begam, N K Pandian and Shehadri - from Central Excise were also searched by the CBI. Sources said that the agency had also conducted searches at the premises of three sales tax officials - Pannerselvam, Kurunjiselvam and Ganeshan besides the houses of Mahdav Rao, Uma Shankar Gupta and Sreenivas Rao , all promoters of the Jeyam Group. Sources said teams from CBI Anti Corruption-III Unit from Delhi arrived in Chennai on Tuesday evening.

Late on Wednesday night Rajendran met Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. Sources said the meeting lasted for five minutes. “It took place at the CM’s residence. In all probabilty, the police chief briefed the CM about the development,” a source said.

In December that year, the then Chennai Police Commissioner S George wrote to the home secretary seeking a probe into the alleged bribe that was revealed during the I-T searches. He had then demanded an inquiry by an independent agency to nail the officers who had collected bribe and also to clear names of officers who were wrongly targeted.

George’s letter was leaked to media, and gutkha scam has remained in public and media attention ever since. When the issue became a political controversy, the government later informed the Assembly that the case was being probed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). The DVAC finally registered a case in September 2017.

However, following a petition filed by DMK MLA J Anbalagan, the Madras High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI. In May this year, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch, New Delhi, registered an FIR against unknown officials of Central Excise Department, Tamil Nadu government, State Food Safety Department, public servants and private persons under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and also provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The scam is related to the alleged collection of kickbacks by State ministers and senior police officers among other officials for allowing the sale and distribution of tobacco products that were banned in the State. The ban had come into effect in 2013. The allegation stated that Health Minister C Vijaya Baskar and State Police Chief TK Rajendran and S George, who served as city police commissioners, and several other officials from various departments had allegedly taken bribes to the tune of Rs 39.91 crore for facilitating sale of gutkha.

After recovering the ledger containing details of the alleged bribe, the Income-Tax department had written a letter to the then chief secretary, P Ramamohana Rao, on August 11, 2016, seeking an inquiry into the scam. The communication was also sent to the then DGP Ashok Kumar. Though Rao later admitted that he received the letter and forwarded it to the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the present chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan maintained for long that she has not seen such a letter. The letter, written by Principal Director of Income Tax, Chennai, to the DGP, was later recovered by the I-T investigators from a room occupied by jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala during searches at Vedanilayam, late Jayalalithaa’s residence in Poes Garden, in November 2017.