Tamil Nadu Public Service members raided

CHENNAI: Two months after the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) came under the Vigilance ambit, officials today conducted searches at the premises of TNPSC Chairman and its members in Chennai and Tiruchirappally in connection with alleged irregularities in appointments.The charges against TNPSC Chairman T R Sellamuthu and others include criminal misconduct by obtaining pecuniary advantage and abuse of official position among others, according to an official release from Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC)."By demanding selected list of candidates before official release in the matter of recruitment of Assistant Dental Surgeons, the accused officers attempted to commit criminal misconduct by obtaining pecuniary advantage," it said.They also "abused their official position," to not allow authorities to look into the specific allegation of corruption regarding recruitment of "ineligible candidates" for Motor Vehicle Inspectors Grade II, it said.The accused did not provide required documents to DVAC after it registered a case which was also an offence, the release said, adding, case was registered under different sections of Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code.Raids were carried out at 14 places in Chennai and Tiruchirappally, it said.In August, the state government had brought the TNPSC Chairman and its members under the purview of the state Vigilance Commission and the DVAC by way of a Government Order.