CHENNAI: Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate S K Sheoran is under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation after he was quizzed in connection with the Tamil Nadu gutka scam.
A CBI spokesman told Express on Thursday that Sheoran was an Assistant Director in the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) when the scam allegedly happened. He was questioned at the Chennai office of the agency. The agency also questioned Superintendent of Police, Villupuram, S Jayakumar in connection with the scam.
The quizzing of the two officials comes in the wake of the CBI searches at the premises of Additional Commissioner of Goods and Service Tax Senthil Valaven and former Additional Commissioner, System and Central Excise Intelligence, Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) S Sridhar.
The searches come in the wake of the CBI recording its sixth arrest in the gutka scam by arresting E Sivakumar, who was then posted on deputation as Food Safety Officer in the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, Ministry of Health earlier.
The other five arrested included promoters and directors of Jayem Group - AV Madhav Rao, Uma Shankar Gupta and P V Srinivasa Rao, designated officer of Thiruvallur Food Safety and Drug Administration department Dr P Senthil Murugan and Superintendent of Customs and Excise department N K Pandian.
Earlier, the CBI had raided 35 locations across Chennai, Thiruvallur, Tuticorin, Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), Mumbai and Bangalore, which included the premises of Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijay Bhaskar, Tamil Nadu DGP TK Rajendran, former Chennai Police Commissioner S George, former state minister BV Ramana and several other top officials of the Central Excise department, Food Safety department and Health department