DVAC conducts searches in equipment procurement scam

Senior officer’s house among those raided

The residence of a police officer in Chennai where a DVAC search was conducted on Saturday morning.

Officers of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Saturday conducted searches at more than 15 places, including the residence of senior police officer M. Anbuchezhian, in connection with alleged irregularities in the procurement of equipment for the police force.

Twelve teams of the DVAC had fanned out for searches across the State. The searches were held on Saturday morning at the houses of Mr. Anbuchezhian in Kilpauk, Additional Superintendent of Police Ramesh and Deputy Superintendent of Police Udayashankar in Pattinapakkam.

Following allegations by political parties including DMK and PMK, the Home Department had initially ordered an internal probe against the police officers for ‘criminal misconduct’ and causing ‘pecuniary loss’ to the government on September 19 last year.

Subsequently, a preliminary internal investigation by the Deputy Inspector General (Technical Services) and Inspector General (Crime) allegedly found serious irregularities in the tenders floated for the purchase of CCTV cameras as well as the eligibility criteria set for the procurement of these products, among other issues.

“The DVAC conducted a detailed enquiry on the orders of government into the allegation that the then Superintendent of Police, Technical Services and Police Telecommunication Branch officals committed irregularities in the purchase of technical gadgets such as mobiles, CCTV devices, tablet PCs, GPS and spare batteries for VHF sets during the period 2016-2018, thereby gaining pecuniary advantage and causing a huge monetary loss to the government,” sources said.

18 places searched

“As the detailed enquiry reveals a prima facie case against 14 officials of Police Telecommunication Branch and two private firms, a case was registered on Friday. Subsequently, DVAC officers conducted searches in 18 places including residences and offices of the suspected officers and private individuals. Some incriminating material and documents have been seized from there,” the sources added.