The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Saravanan, a close aide of Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, after establishing evidence pointing to his involvement in the gutkha scam.
The move comes days after the CBI informed the Madras High Court that the possibility of implicating Ministers and top police officers in the State in the illegal gutkha sale case could not be ruled out.
The agency said it had collected materials to suspect the involvement of politicians and police officers in the crime.
In the third week of November, the agency had laid a chargesheet against six suspects, including three government officials, on completion of the first round of investigation in the case.
The CBI said, in an affidavit filed in the court, that the statements of suspects arrested or examined in the case had revealed illegal manufacturing and sale of gutkha and other tobacco products, manipulation of documents and bribe paid to politicians and officials of the Tamil Nadu Police Department, Food Safety, Central Excise, Commercial Tax Departments, etc.
According to official sources, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption (III) Unit, New Delhi, camping in Chennai, had summoned Mr. Saravanan to appear before the Investigation Officer. After he expressed his inability to appear on a particular date, the agency reissued the summons. He has been asked by the agency to be present on Friday next, for questioning.
Houses searched
The agency, had in September, searched the houses of the Health Minister, two DGP-rank officers and others.
The gutkha scam, first exposed by The Hindu in June 2017, relates to the alleged payment of bribes to the tune of ₹39.91 crore to a State Minister, a few IPS officers and others, by the manufacturer of the MDM brand of gutkha, for facilitating storage, transport and sale of the banned substance in Chennai city.
