Several politicians, policemen and customs and excise staff are under scanner of the agency in connection with the case.

New Delhi: The CBI on Thursday questioned a senior Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer in connection with its probe into the Tamil Nadu gutkha scam.

The CBI officials were tight-lipped about the questioning of S.K. Sheoran, currently posted as Deputy Director in the ED. They even refused to disclose whether Sheoran was questioned as a witness or a suspect in the case. Sheoran, an Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer, was questioned by the CBI at its Chennai office on Thursday. He was posted as Assistant Director in the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence when the scam allegedly took place and the questioning pertained to his work, sources clarified.

The CBI also questioned superintendent of police, Villupuram, Jayakumar, the then deputy commissioner of Central Crime Branch, in connection with the scam at its office in Chennai, sources said. Several politicians, policemen and customs and excise staff are under scanner of the agency in connection with the case.

The scam came to light on July 8, 2017, when income tax sleuths raided the godown, offices and residences of a pan masala and gutkha (a concoction of tobacco and pan masala) manufacturer in Tamil Nadu, who had been facing charges of tax evasion to the tune of Rs 250 crore. The manufacture, storage and sale of the chewable forms of tobacco, including gutkha and pan masala were banned by the Tamil Nadu government in 2013. During the raids, the department had seized a diary containing names of those, who had been allegedly paid by the gutkha manufacturers. The DMK had sought appointment of a special investigation team, (SIT) headed by a retired judge of the high court and comprising CBI officials, to inquire into the matter.