Chennai: A DMK MLA has approached the Madras high court to constitute a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired judge of the Madras high court, to probe into the pan masala/ gutka scam allegedly involving a minister of Tamil Nadu, the DGP and other officials of central and state governments.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M. Sundar before whom the PIL filed by DMK MLA J. Anbazhagan came up for hearing, adjourned it to July 31.
Senior counsel P. Wilson, appearing for Anbazhagan submitted that the sale of gutka and pan masala was now prohibited under Regulation 2.3.4 of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011. The state government also issued a notification banning the sale of gutka and pan masala.
While so in July 2016, the Income Tax department conducted search operations in the premises of manufacturers and sellers of gutka under the name and style of ‘MDM’ brand.
On the basis of such search and seizure proceedings, the principal director of IT wrote a letter to the state chief secretary stating that a ledger containing details of money paid as bribes to minister and top bureaucrats of the state was seized and requested them to conduct an enquiry and take action, Wilson added.
Wilson said Madhava Rao, one of the main partners of gutkha manufacturer that sells MDM brand, had during interrogation confessed to the I-T authorities that the code word HM in the ledgers refers to state health minister Vijaya Baskar and the CP refers to the Commissioner of Police, Chennai viz S. George. The bribe money was paid over a period of one year as quid pro quo for facilitating the illegal manufacture and sale of banned gutka in Chennai.
The minister who was in charge of enforcing the ban has unscrupulously committed the crime of aiding and abetting the sale of gutka in Chennai for his own personal gain, against the declared policy of the state government.
Wilson said this was a classic case of fence grazing the crop. The person who was named by the IT department as the person who received the bribe was now conferred with the top post of DGP.
Hence, no fair, impartial investigation of the victims can be expected from the state police when their DGP was involved, Wilson also added.
