Tamil Nadu anti-corruption body books former minister Senthil Balaji in TASMAC probe
Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) has widened its investigation into alleged corruption in the state-run liquor monopoly, TASMAC. On Wednesday, the agency conducted coordinated searches at 41 locations and formally booked former excise minister V Senthil Balaji and six others in connection with a years-long system of manipulation in liquor procurement, transport contracts, bar licences and administrative decisions.
The searches began around 7 am at Senthil Balaji's residence in Rameshwarapatti, Karur, as well as at the homes of several associates and former aides, and the TASMAC district office in Karur. Raids were also carried out across Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, the Nilgiris and other locations as investigators sought documents and electronic evidence.
The actions follow the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) on Tuesday night naming Senthil Balaji; former TASMAC Managing Director S Visakan (IAS); former senior regional managers T Rama Durai Murugan and R Panneer Selvam; former ministerial aide Bhaskar; and two private individuals, Rathesh Raj Shanmugavel and S Karthik alias Mulanoor Karthik. The FIR also refers to unnamed public servants, transport firms, bottling companies and distilleries. None of the named individuals were available for comment.
The FIR does not focus on a single transaction but instead portrays an organised network operating between 2021 and 2025 that influenced major commercial interfaces between TASMAC and private players. Investigators allege that district and regional officials manipulated tenders for TASMAC bars and transport contracts, favoured selected bidders, allowed cartelisation among applicants, and enabled bars to continue operating despite expired licences, causing substantial losses to the government. The FIR cites alleged irregularities in bar tenders across Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Namakkal, the Nilgiris and Karur.
Regarding transport, the FIR claims that tenders for 45 TASMAC depots were manipulated through misuse of earnest money deposit demand drafts submitted by one applicant. Unused drafts were allegedly diverted to help other contractors secure contracts. Tender procedures were deliberately bypassed, involving fraud, manipulation and illicit financial transactions.
Another strand of the investigation concerns TASMAC bar operations. The FIR alleges that licences were often controlled not by successful bidders but by third parties acting through syndicates. It specifically mentions a so-called “Karur gang” that allegedly influenced bar allotments across the state and pressured TASMAC officials regarding licence allocations.
Investigators have also incorporated allegations that first surfaced in material submitted by the Enforcement Directorate. According to the FIR, distillery and bottle suppliers allegedly generated unaccounted cash through inflated or bogus invoices, then routed the money back to distilleries, which used it to provide kickbacks for securing liquor supply orders. The FIR cites transactions involving several private companies and alleges these practices formed part of a broader system benefiting selected manufacturers.
Perhaps the most politically sensitive allegation involves Rathesh Raj Shanmugavel, described in the FIR as an “unauthorised power broker” who allegedly exercised influence over official decision-making inside TASMAC. The investigation is ongoing.
