CHENNAI: The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Thursday registered a corruption case against a section officer in the Tamil Nadu Home Department for possessing disproportionate assets, suspected to have been amassed using proceeds from gold smuggling, involving her son, an Indigo Airlines staff member in Chennai.
The DVAC’s FIR alleges that S A Shahira Banu, an assistant section officer in the Goondas section of the Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, possessed disproportionate assets worth Rs 21.27 lakh during the check period between September 2021 and August 2024.
The case stems from a letter dated August 9, 2024 by Chennai Customs to the Tamil Nadu government, following a probe into a smuggling case where 12.6 kg of gold worth Rs 8.5 crore was smuggled by Barkatullah, an Indigo Airlines staff member, at Chennai airport with the assistance of a Sri Lankan passenger, Abdulla Jomu Jaljahan. The case was detected on June 8, 2024.
Barkatullah, a junior colleague of Banu’s eldest son Syed Mohammed Kareemullah in Indigo Airlines’ Customer Service division, allegedly concealed the smuggled gold in his office.
According to sources, Kareemullah was identified as one of the masterminds behind the smuggling racket, which used Sri Lankan transit passengers to smuggle gold and hand it over to airport staff. Employed by the airline since 2021, Kareemullah has been absconding since the customs investigation began and is under scrutiny for allegedly smuggling large quantities of gold.
Sources in the Tamil Nadu government stated that the customs investigation revealed substantial cash deposits in Banu’s bank accounts, raising suspicions about her involvement and awareness of her son’s illegal activities.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Banu was unable to provide explanation for properties she had acquired, despite being required to declare such transactions as a government employee.
The DVAC probe found that prior to the check period, Banu had purchased two parcels of land in Madurantakam and three two-wheelers. During the check period, she and her family were found to have acquired a plot of land worth Rs 39.24 lakh in Chitlapakkam near Tambaram, a car, and significant bank deposits.
DVAC calculated the total value of disproportionate assets during the check period to be Rs 21.27 lakh. Approval to register the case was granted by Tamil Nadu government on November 6, 2024.
Unearthed hidden wealth
During the check period, Banu and her family were found to have acquired a plot of land worth Rs 39.24 lakh near Tambaram, a car, and significant bank deposits