TNPSC chairman quits amid raids

CHENNAI: Even as the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption on Friday conducted yet another series of massive raids across the state in connection with the case registered against the chairman and members of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission for alleged corruption in the recruitment process, R Sellamuthu, resigned as TNPSC chairman. He sent his resignation to Governor K Rosaiah. The Raj Bhavan has, however, not confirmed if the resignation has been accepted. In the fourth such search operation by DVAC as part of inves­tigations into alleged corruption and irregularities in the recruitment process of assistant dental surgeons, motor vehicle inspectors and Group-1 employees, the sleuths raided the residences of candidates across the State  who are suspected to have paid money for favours. “As many as 73 teams conducted the search. The raid was based on material collected during previous raids. It will take at least from a week to 10 days to collect all the material from across the state and process them,” said a senior police official.Of the 73 candidates raided, 10 reside in Chennai and 13 are from Madurai. In Chennai, the raids were conducted in Indira Nagar; Adyar, Valsaravakkam and Ambattur areas.Searches were also conducted at Thanjavur and Pudukkottai (5 houses each); Sivagangai, Salem and Vellore (4 each); Kancheepuram, Theni, Tiruchy, Dharmapuri and Erode (3 each); Virudhunagar, Cuddalore, Krishnagiri and Villupuram (2 each) and Kanyakumari, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli and Namakkal (1 each).DVAC sources said incriminating documents such as letters, indicating payment made for favours, and mobile phones were seized, and that these searches were made based evidence gathered i earlier raids, such as phone numbers of candidates and letters linking TNPSC members to the candidates. However, the sources said that the candidates have not been named as accused and that material seized during Friday’s raid would be used only as corroborate evidence to strengthen the case. The residences and office premises of TNPSC chairman Sellamuthu and members were searched on October 14, 2011, followed by similar action at the residences of TNPSC staff members on November 18. Another raid was conducted on the residences and offices of suspected middlemen on December 13.