Chennai: As the Delhi-Kanyakumari Thirukkural biweekly express comes to a squealing halt at Madurai railway station, a staff is ready with a trolley near the goods compartment. Around 200 cartons wrapped in polythene are lowered onto the platform and the person wheels out the consignment through the VIP exit to a van parked close to the government railway police station. The darkness of the night is the only sign of secrecy in the otherwise brazen operation of smuggling banned gutka into the state.
The visuals, secretly captured on camera by Chennai-based rights and advocacy group Arappor Iyakkam, were released here on Wednesday.
Since the operation in October, heads have rolled, tobacco products have been seized and several communications have passed between the central government and the state in checking the transport of banned tobacco substances into Tamil Nadu, especially by rail.
But activists want more. “The movement of gutka cannot happen without the knowledge of senior officials,” Arappor Iyakkam convener Jayaram Venkatesh, demanding a CBI investigation. He cited the instance of how gutka was transported through the Thirukkural express. The train is scheduled to stop at Madurai junction for five minutes, but has for the past three years been stopping for 15-25 minutes without sanction. This extra period, a vigilance raid later found, was used to unload smokeless tobacco products, mainly gutka. “This is an obvious sign that multiple officials are involved,” said Jayaram.
In the meanwhile, the railway officials have handed over the seized tobacco products from Madurai railway station to food safety officials for testing. Officials said the government railway police will file an FIR once the test results are out.
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