The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday carried out searches at the Delhi residence of a senior official of the Competition Commission of India in connection with a gutka scam in Tamil Nadu, reported PTI.

The searches were conducted at the East Delhi residence of Ravi Chandran, deputy director general of the Competition Commission of India, unidentified agency officials told PTI. Chandran, earlier posted as a senior intelligence officer at the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence in Chennai between 2013 to 2015, was allegedly involved in the scam during his tenure there.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation also questioned S Sridhar, the then assistant commissioner at the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence. A day earlier, the probe agency had conducted searches at the residence of Sridhar and Senthil Valavan, additional commissioner of Goods and Services Tax. The agency officials said that Valavan has been summoned to join the investigation.

In July 2016, raids were conducted at the godown, offices and residences of a gutka manufacturer in Chennai on charges of evading Rs 250 crore in taxes. 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.

The case, which involves senior officials of the Tamil Nadu government and a minister, was transferred to the CBI in April. In May, the investigating agency registered a case against unknown officials of the central excise department, Tamil Nadu government and food safety department.

Last month, the agency raided the houses of Tamil Nadu Minister of Health C Vijayabaskar, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police TK Rajendran, former Chennai Police Commissioner S George, and former state minister BV Ramana in connection with the scam. Later, it arrested five people, including an official each of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration and Central Excise Department.