CBI raids homes of TN health minister, top cop in gutkha scam probe

CHENNAI: The CBI carried out searches on Wednesday at over 40 locations in Chennai and other districts, significantly at the residences of state health minister C Vijayabaskar and Director General of Police TK Rajendran over alleged storage and sale of gutkha after it was banned in the state.

The searches, which began around 8 am on Wednesday morning , followed the recent seizure of "incriminating evidence" from searches of gutkha manufacturer MDM Madhava Rao.

The scope of the Central Bureau of Investigation's raids also included the residences of former city police Commissioner S George and many other officials who were on the radar in the multi-crore gutkha scam.


The gutkha scam refers to an Income Tax report sent to the former Tamil Nadu chief secretary Rama Mohana Rao and the then DGP Ashok Kumar detailing bribes to various government officials to allow sale of the substance - a concoction of tobacco and pan masala - former chief minister J Jayalalithaa had banned..

The manufacture, storage and sale of the chewable forms of tobacco, including gutka and pan masala were banned by the Tamil Nadu government in 2013.

While the state government had maintained there was no such report in a case filed by a trade union leader in the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, the court ordered that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption carry out investigations in the case.

DMK's J Anbazhagan then filed for a CBI probe in the case, which was recently granted. The agency registered an FIR against unidentified officials of the Tamil Nadu government, Central Excise Department and the Food Safety Department .