CBI arrests five in gutkha scam Will cooperate with any probe: Minister
TAMIL NADU The five include promoters and directors of Annamalai Industries and officials of state FSDA and central excise department
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Thursday arrested five people, including two government officials, in connection with the multi-crore gutkha scam, officials said.
A CBI court in Chennai has remanded the accused to the judicial custody. The arrested also include two promoters and directors of Annamalai Industries allegedly involved in the scam, officials added.
The development comes after the CBI conducted massive search at 35 places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, and Maharastra on Wednesday. The searches were also conducted at the residence of Tamil Nadu director general of police TK Rajendran, a probable first in the country, and state health minister C Vijayabaskar, and former Chennai city police commissioner S George.
Subsequently, on Thursday, the CBI arrested three Gutkha manufacturers - AV Madhava Rao, Srinivasa Rao and Uma Shankar Gupta - promoters of Jayam group, which manufactured MDM Gutkha in Chennai.
The federal agency has also arrested P Senthil Murugan of Food Safety and Drug Administration department of Tamil Nadu, and NK Pandian, a superintendent of Central Excise department, officials said.
The case pertains to illegal sale of gutka, a concoction of tobacco and ‘pan masala’ which was banned in Tamil Nadu in 2013, by Jayam Industries.
The promoter-directors of Jayam Industries continued selling MDM brand gutka in the state even after the ban by allegedly
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A CBI COURT REMANDED THE FIVE ARRESTED TO THE JUDICIAL CUSTODY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 20. CBI IS LIKELY TO INITIATE A CUSTODIAL PROBE TO INTERROGATE THE FIVE
influencing officials, politicians and regulatory authorities, the agency officials said. Jayam Industries was rechristened into Annamalai Industries to continue the sale, they added.
The scam came to light on July 8, 2017, when income tax sleuths raided the godown, offices and residences of the company in Tamil Nadu, which had been facing charges of tax evasion to the tune of ~250 crore.
During the raids, the income tax department had seized a diary containing names of those who had been allegedly paid by the gutka manufacturers.
The CBI court where the five arrested were produced on Thursday remanded them to the judicial custody until September 20. Agency officials are likely to initiate a custodial probe for interrogation of the five accused.
The CBI also sealed the house of police inspector Sambath Kumar at Royapuram near Chennai. Kumar, an inspector in Tuticorin district, worked as an inspector in Puzhal police station near Chennai until 2017.
Tamil Nadu health and family welfare minister C Vijayabaskar on Wednesday said as a law-abiding citizen, he would extend his cooperation for any probe. On Wednesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his residence in connection with the gutkha scam.
In a statement issued here, Vijayabaskar said in a case filed by the opposition DMK party the Madras High Court had transferred the case to CBI. Vijayabaskar said as a law-abiding citizen, he will cooperate with any probe as he has fully cooperated with officials during the raid. He said just because of some allegations a person will not become a culprit.
The CBI in May-end had registered a case in the scam against unknown officials of Central Excise, Tamil Nadu government, Food Safety Department, public servants and private persons on
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charges of criminal conspiracy and for corruption following a direction of the Madras High Court on April 26.
The agency has been investigating all aspects of the offence of illegal manufacture, import, supply, distribution and sale of gutkha and other forms of chewable tobacco which are banned in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
In April 2018, the Madras High Court ordered the CBI to probe the multi-crore scam, alleging the involvement of Vijayabaskar, Rajendran and several other top police and other central and state government officials.