Collectors of 5 T.N. districts appear before ED
Five district collectors of Tamil Nadu appeared at the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after they were summoned by the probe agency in connection with a case related to alleged illegal sand mining.
The ED uncovered a major scam in the sand quarries located in five districts of Tamil Nadu where sand was removed illegally and above the permitted level, amounting to several thousand crores, sources said.
The district collectors of Ariyalur, Karur, Thanjavur, Trichy and Vellore were summoned after the ED conducted raids in these districts.
The five District Collectors who appeared before the ED are Anne Mary Swarn (Ariyalur), Thangavel (Karur), Deepak Jacob (Thanjavur), Pradeep Kumar (Trichy) and Subbulakshmi (Vellore).
The ED will question the officials over the permits provided to various companies.
The raids by the probe agency were initiated following FIRs filed in several police stations across the state over illegal sand mining.
The agency used drones during the raids to take aerial surveys. It also confiscated several documents which pointed to a sand mining syndicate involving a group.
The probe agency attached assets worth Rs 130 crore in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).