- Industry
- 2 min read
Gutka scam: CBI summons close aide of health minister
CBI had raided Vijayabaskar’s residence on September 5. Residences of former Chennai police commissioner S George and incumbent director general of police (DGP) T K Rajendran were also searched on the same day.
CBI had raided Vijayabaskar’s residence on September 5. Residences of former Chennai police commissioner S George and incumbent director general of police (DGP) T K Rajendran were also searched on the same day.
Sources said Vijayabaskar was likely to be summoned for an inquiry. However, the official spokesperson of the agency said no summons have been issued to him so far. Vijayabaskar himself is expecting a summon from the agency as he would have to ‘clarify’ many things, sources close to him said.
Sources said Saravanan had been asked twice to appear before the agency but he had cited health reasons to delay it.
As on date, six people have been arrested by the CBI in the probe. Apart from gutka manufacturing company representatives A V Madhava Rao, Srinivasa Rao and Uma Shankar Gupta, the agency has arrested Senthil Murugan, a food safety officer, N K Pandiyan an officer in the central excise department and Sivakumar another health inspector. All of them were arrested by the agency after questioning.
The case was being investigated by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-corruption (DVAC) and was transferred to CBI on April 26 by the Madras high court based on an PIL.
The scam pertains to illegal sale of banned tobacco products in Tamil Nadu which first came to light in 2016 after an income tax search at MDM tobacco owner Madhava Rao’s residence unearthed evidence of bribes to a minister, top government officials and police officers. Vijayabaskar, Rajendran and George were allegedly part of the list.
CBI has indicated to the high court that the possibility of implicating ministers and top policemen was not ruled out.
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