ED flags 'scam' in TN Municipal administration recruitment, seeks police probe

Chennai, Oct 29 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to the Tamil Nadu Police alleging a large-scale cash-for-jobs scam in the recruitment to 2,538 posts in the state's Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department.

The agency has claimed that "bribes" ranging between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 35 lakh per post were allegedly collected from candidates in exchange for appointments.

In its communication sent under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to the Head of Police Force (HoPF), the ED said the selection process for assistant engineers, town planning officers, junior engineers, and sanitary inspectors was rigged in mid-2024.

The agency alleged that powerful politicians and their associates manipulated the exam process to favour at least 150 candidates.

According to officials, the ED's findings stemmed from evidence unearthed during a money laundering probe into a bank fraud case involving a real estate firm linked to MAWS Minister K.N. Nehru's brother, N. Ravichandran.

The investigation reportedly revealed money trails and communications suggesting the diversion of funds towards the recruitment racket.

The central agency has also submitted a detailed 232-page dossier to the police, naming several suspected intermediaries and officials involved in the alleged scam.

The dossier outlines the modus operandi of the examination manipulation, details of candidates who benefited, and the chain of bribery transactions routed through multiple middlemen.

The ED has urged the Tamil Nadu police to initiate a comprehensive probe against the accused, including certain officials of Anna University, which had conducted the recruitment examinations.

When contacted, MAWS Secretary D. Karthikeyan said he was unaware of the ED's communication.

"The recruitment was conducted transparently, and to my knowledge, there were no irregularities," he said.

The recruitment drive, which saw over 1.12 lakh applicants competing for 2,538 posts, was touted as one of the government’s biggest hiring exercises this year. The latest ED communication has now put the process under a cloud, sparking fresh political controversy in Tamil Nadu.

--IANS

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