DVAC books dead official; cites wife, son as accused

CHENNAI: More than 16 months after former chairman of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board died by suicide after DVAC raids, the investigators registered a graft case against him, his wife and son for allegedly amassing wealth to the tune of Rs 6.85 crore.

The DVAC special investigation cell registered the case citing late TNPCB chief AV Venkatachalam as the first accused, his wife V Vasanthi as second accused and their son AV Vikram as the third accused. He had killed himself in December 2021.

Based on an information that Venkatachalam had accumulated assets and pecuniary resources in his name and in the name of his family members which are disproportionate to known sources of his income, a detailed inquiry was conducted.

Venkatachalam, a group ‘A’ category officer who superannuated on June 30, 2018, was appointed as the TNPCB chairman from September 26, 2020, to September 27, 2021. He had also served at various places during his tenure in Forest Department and as member-secretary of TNPCB.

In the beginning of the check period (April 2013), the accused persons’ assets stood at Rs 1.68 crore, which grew to Rs 8.54 crore at the end of the check period in and September 2021. After factoring in the likely savings, genuine income and expenditure, the DVAC pegged the disproportionate assets of the accused at Rs 6.85 crore.