The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday registered first information report (FIR) in a Chennai court against “unknown officials” of Central Excise, Tamil Nadu Government, food safety department, public servants and private persons under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the infamous Gutkha case.

The case has been under orders issued by the Madras High Court vide its order dated April 26, 2018  while disposing a writ petition foiled by a DMK legislator J Anbazhagan who complained that gutkha ,a banned tobacco material, was being manufactured, and sold in the state of Tamil Nadu despite the ban order. Suresh Kumar, deputy superintendent of police, CBI, AC-III New Delhi has been entrusted with the trial of the case , according to the R Gopalakrishna Rao, SP, CBI, AC-II New Delhi.

 The gutkha case created a furore in Tamil Nadu politics and the investigating officers had to examine the residential premises of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa from where they seized sensational and secret letters exchanged between the Income Tax Department and top bureaucrats of the State in November 2017.

The names of a minister in the Edappadi Palaniswamy government, a top cop and a former senior police officer besides some officials and public men figured in the list of persons who were under the payroll of  one of the gutkha manufacturers.

It all started with Madhava Rao, one of the gutkha manufacturers, in his sworn affidavit to the Income Tax department  stating  that he had paid nearly Rs 40 crore to Vijaya Bhaskar, Health Minister of Tamil Nadu  and senior IPS officers including DGP rank officers T K Rajendran and S George (since retired from service) among others for facilitating the manufacture and sale of gutkha which was banned  in the State.

Despite its official ban, gutkha was freely available across the counter all over Tamil Nadu as law enforcing agencies had turned a blind eye to the business.

The case also led to several turbulences in Tamil Nadu legislative assembly when the Opposition DMK brought ghutka packets to the House leading to filing of breach of privilege motion against them. The 22 DMK MlA's approached the Madras High Court challenging the breach of privilege motion against them and the case is pending before the court.

Though the Tamil Nadu Government had entrusted the case to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) and the Vigilance Commisssion for probe, the frequent transfer of the investigating officials upset the probe process which resulted in the DMK leader approaching the High Court with a plea to transfer the case to the CBI.