Chennai, June 26 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has widened its investigation into the alleged manipulation of the 2017 Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) examination for Polytechnic lecturers, carrying out searches at 21 premises across Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchy and Coimbatore, officials said.

The searches, conducted on Thursday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are linked to the alleged tampering of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) answer sheets in one of Tamil Nadu’s biggest recruitment scandals.

The money laundering investigation stems from a Tamil Nadu Police FIR registered in 2017 after complaints alleged large-scale manipulation of examination records.

According to the ED, investigators found that scanned OMR answer sheets were digitally altered after the examination, resulting in inflated scores for select candidates.

Authorities allege that an additional set of 385 secondary OMR sheets bearing the names of the same candidates was prepared to facilitate the fraud.

As a result, 262 ineligible candidates were shown as qualified for appointment as Polytechnic lecturers before the irregularities came to light through public complaints, prompting cancellation of the results and a fresh evaluation.

The Tamil Nadu Police subsequently filed charge sheets in 2021 and again in October 2023.

According to the ED, the conspiracy was allegedly masterminded by V. Subramanian along with his associate Suresh Paul, assisted by technical personnel from M/s Datatec.

Investigators claim the accused operated through a network of agents and middlemen who approached candidates willing to pay between Rs 14 lakh and Rs 16 lakh in cash for guaranteed selection.

The illegally collected money was allegedly routed through mule bank accounts, proxy firms, including Trust Enterprises, Wisdom Enterprises and Suriyam Enterprises, as well as accounts belonging to relatives and associates, before being invested in real estate and jewellery to conceal its origin.

During the latest searches, the ED seized records allegedly detailing cash collections made by agents, carbon copies of OMR sheets relating to various government recruitment examinations, educational certificates belonging to candidates, and several digital storage devices believed to contain crucial evidence.

Officials also recovered cash amounting to Rs.13.18 lakh, froze 56 bank accounts and two Demat accounts, and seized documents relating to 36 immovable properties.

The properties have an estimated government guideline value of Rs.9.67 crore, while their market value is believed to exceed Rs 20 crore.

The ED said the searches were aimed at tracing the proceeds of crime generated through the alleged recruitment scam.

Further investigation is continuing to identify the complete money trail and establish the role of all those involved in the alleged conspiracy.

–IANS

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