The Central Bureau of Investigation is examining the then Investigation Officer/Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, who investigated and registered a case in the sensational gutkha scam.
Sources in the agency said the officer, presently serving in the North Zone, was summoned and examined in the last two days regarding the details of the preliminary investigation that led to registration of a case in the scam. Questioning the Investigation Officer was a formal requirement before finalising the case.
The DVAC had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against 17 persons, including some middle-level officials, though the Book of Accounts seized by the Income Tax Department during a raid on the premises of the MDM brand of gutkha in July 2016 revealed payment of bribes to senior officials in the Chennai Police, Customs, Chennai Corporation and Health departments.
Investigators completed an extensive analysis of Call Detail Record (CDR) of suspects, including some officials, to ascertain the links of some more persons to the scam.
The CBI was looking into every allegation made by former Director-General of Police S. George in his statement. He had accused his subordinate officers of not bringing the scam to his notice. Some claims were being corroborated with scientific evidence, sources said.
The Anti-Corruption-III of the CBI, New Delhi, which is investigating the case, is expected to file the second and final chargesheet soon.
Six persons, including three officials, were arrested by the agency before it filed the first chargesheet against them in November 2018. The scam, first exposed by The Hindu in June 2017, pertains to the alleged involvement of top politicians, including some IPS officers and others, in taking bribes to the tune of ₹39.91 crore for facilitating storage, transport and sale of the banned commodity in Chennai.
