Officers of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Friday carried out raids on the houses of former Anna University Vice-Chancellor D. Viswanathan and four others in connection with alleged irregularities in awarding tenders for procurement of electronic equipment for the university.
Documents pertaining to the tenders were seized from the houses of the suspects, the DVAC said.
Apart from the house of Mr. Viswanathan in Thiruvanmiyur, DVAC teams conducted simultaneous raids on the residences of Professor P. Narayanaswamy and Assistant K. Nagarajan, both from the Department of Computer Science of Anna University in Kottur and Guindy respectively.
The office of Barnas International in Vepery and the residences of its CEO P.M. Najimudeen and Manager R. Yeswanthakumar in Egmore and Avadi respectively were also raided.
DVAC sources said the raid followed a complaint lodged by an RTI activist alleging that Barnas International Private Limited had submitted fabricated quotations in the name of other companies, apart from its own bid.
It subsequently won the orders and delivered computers, CCTV systems and other electronic equipment to the university a few years from 2008.
Computers loaded with software that was not needed for academic purposes were purchased by the university at inflated rates, the sources alleged.
The DVAC sources also said the former V-C had allegedly pressured affiliated colleges to make their procurements from this company.
