A two-member special police team conducted searches at the Deputy Director Mines and Minerals office, situated in the Collectorate campus, here on Sunday.
Accompanied by two revenue officers, the police arrived at around 1 p.m. and remained inside the Deputy Director’s office for about an hour, sources said.
According to sources, Deputy Director (Mines and Minerals) Rajaram, who served in Madurai for over five years from the third quarter of 2005, was placed under suspension in mid-2011 for having been negligent in discharging his official duties, connivance with granite quarry operators which had resulted in loss to exchequer, among others.
After a few months, when the suspension was revoked, he was posted as Deputy Director (Mines) in Kanyakumari district, officials said.
Under such circumstances, the special police team had taken up investigation into the role played by key officials in Madurai district in connivance with the granite quarry operators.
A few days ago, some Tamil Nadu Minerals (TAMIN) officials of Madurai and Chennai offices came under the scanner and on Saturday three officers were arrested after they were found to have indulged in negligence in duty which had suffered huge loss to the State exchequer.
As a sequel to this, the police picked up Rajaram from Nagercoil for interrogation. On Sunday, it was revealed that based on the confessions of the official, the police inspected some granite quarries owned by firms such as Olympus Granites, in which Durai Dayanidhi, son of M.K. Alagiri, was a partner.
Verification
Meanwhile, following complaints of land grab charges against granite quarry operators from petitioners on Saturday, Superintendent of Police V. Balakrishnan had ordered independent verification by special teams. “Once the field inspection is complete, the next course of action will be initiated,” a team member said on Sunday. On a single day alone, the police received as many as 63 complaints, including some from police personnel who claimed that their housing sites in Jangid Nagar were forcibly taken over by granite operators.
