Sleuths of the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation would swoop down on many senior Government officials and trade union leaders associated with Government establishments on charges of corruption and money laundering. This was revealed by a member of the team which raided the residence and offices of P Rama Mohana Rao, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Secretary who was shunted out on Thursday.
Many officials and trade union leaders associated with public sector undertakings and Government of India establishments are under the scanner, he said.
Girija Vaidyanathan, a 1981 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu on Thursday. She is the fourth woman to become the top bureaucrat in the State. A Government releases issued by Shiv Das Meena, Principal Secretary to Government said that Girija Vaidyanathan, additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of land administration has been transferred and posted as Chief Secretary to the Government.
The release further said she would hold additional charge of the posts of Vigilance Commissioner and Administrative Reforms Commissioner. The appointment of 57 year old Girija Vaidyanathan comes a day after sleuths from the Income Tax Department, CBI and Enforcement Directorate raided the office and residence of P Rama Mohana Rao and his close relatives on Wednesday.
The fate of Rama Mohana Rao is not known as the Government has not given him any posting. There are reports that he has been suspended but the Government remained silent over the issue even at the time of going to press.
Girija Vaidyanathan, a post graduate in physics, is the daughter of S Venktaramanan, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. She is also the senior most IAS officer in Tamil Nadu who was overlooked by the Jayalalithaa Government while appointing Rao as Chief Secretary in June 2016.
The raid in the residence of Rao in Chennai’s Anna Nagar got over on Thursday morning 6.45 which means the sleuths spent more than 26 hours for examining his palatial house. “The exact amount of illegal wealth amassed by the person will be known only after days. As on date, the IT department has not released the exact amount of cash or gold it has seized from Rao’s house. The documents have to scrutinised before we could reach a figure,” said a member of the team which raided Rao’s office and residence.
The official said coming days will see more raids in residences and offices of prominent persons in Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, the residence and offices of P Amalanathan, a Madras High Court lawyer, who is a close friend of Rama Mohana Rao were raided by the sleuths on Thursday. The raid in the residence and business premises of Vivek, son of Rama Mohana Rao which began on Wednesday morning were continuing at the time of going to press.
Meanwhile, two associates of Shekhar Reddy, the mining baron and a friend of Rama Mohana Rao, were held by the CBI on Thursday. Reddy who was arrested on Wednesday has been sent to judicial custody till January 3.