Chennai: Five days after a TOI expose on the theft of 34 hard disks from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) headquarters, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal transferred the investigation to the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) on Monday. The order was necessitated because the scope of the probe has expanded and concerns over the nature of the data stored in the missing devices have grown.
Theft Details and Initial Investigation
The theft came to light on May 20 after hard disks containing official data went missing from the TNEB headquarters. A complaint was lodged with the Chintadripet police, who registered a case and launched an investigation. During the inquiry, police arrested a contract employee, Gopinath, 31, of Valarpuram in Ranipet district, suspected of stealing the hard disks. Investigators found that the stolen devices were transported to Bengaluru and sold to a shop there. Police subsequently recovered 34 hard disks and arrested another person, Murali Manohar, 33, of Bengaluru, for buying the stolen hard disks from Gopinath.
Expanding Probe and Public Outcry
The investigation revealed that the theft involved more hard disks than initially reported. Police continued inquiries to determine the motive behind the theft and whether any data was accessed, copied, or destroyed. The theft triggered a public outcry as the stolen hard disks supposedly contained records related to administrative decisions, confidential tender details, purchase receipts, and other official transactions within the electricity department. Investigators are examining the nature of the data stored on the recovered devices and whether any sensitive information was compromised.
Transfer to CB-CID
With the investigation extending beyond Chennai and involving suspects in another state, the DGP ordered the transfer of the case to CB-CID. The specialized agency is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the theft, trace all those involved, and determine whether there was any larger conspiracy behind the removal of the hard disks.
About the Author
A Selvaraj, widely known as Crime Selvaraj, is a veteran journalist with over 31 years of experience in crime reporting across leading Tamil and English newspapers. He has covered historic events, including the deaths of former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers Jayalalithaa and M. Karunanidhi, the IPL betting scam, and the Kanchi Seer Sankararaman murder case. A familiar face in the digital space, he has given more than 500 interviews across 30 YouTube channels, with millions of views on social media. He has also featured in international documentaries on Netflix and Bloomberg, speaking on high-profile cases such as idol smuggler Subhash Kapoor and conman Sukesh Chandrasekar. Beyond journalism, he has acted in three films including the Tamil movie DNA, trained over 200 budding journalists, directed short films, and authored the English crime-poetry collection Chilled Love. His contributions have earned him the TOI Scribe Award and the Humanitarian Award from former Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan.
