Court bins 13-yr-old DVAC case over shoddy probe

MORE than 13 years after DVAC booked a corruption case against two stores officers of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board alleging that they allowed a private contractor to load excess scrap from the Ambattur office, a trial court acquitted both officials.

- SIDDHARTH PRABHAKAR

The agency failed to convince the court that the investigation conducted by the officer was fair and in a true spirit, the court observed in its judgement on Wednesday. Incidentally, one of the accused officers passed away in May 2021, because of which the charges abated.

DVAC's case was that in a surprise check in February 2011, it found two lorries carrying scrap from TNEB's Ambattur office and concluded that the private contractor was carrying 4,652 kg in excess of what was allowed as per tender. The agency accused K Srinivasan, stores officer, and G Saravanan, stores custodian of TNEB'S Chennai west stores department, of allowing this illegality which caused a loss to the government.