The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday registered a case in Tamil Nadu’s gutkha scam against unknown officials of the central excise department, Tamil Nadu government, and food safety department, PTI reported. The case that involves senior officials of the Tamil Nadu government and a minister was transferred to the CBI in April.
The case was registered under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and also under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, The Hindu reported.
In July 2016, raids were conducted at the godown, offices and residences of a gutkha manufacturer in Chennai on charges of evading Rs 250 crore in taxes, reported The News Minute. During the raid, officials found a diary with the names of those believed to have been paid off in order to facilitate the sale of banned tobacco products in the city. Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar was among those named in the diary.
Documents accessed by The Hindu showed that Rs 40 crore was paid to Vijayabaskar and senior officials. Senior police officers and bureaucrats, including Director General of Police TK Rajendran, former Chennai Police Commissioner S George, several officials in the department of Health and Food Safety, and local councillors were named in connection with the scam.
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