The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 23 conducted raids at 18 locations across Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore and Madurai in connection with the alleged 2017 Tamil Nadu government polytechnic lecturer recruitment examination scam. The searches, carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are part of an ongoing money laundering investigation into the alleged manipulation of the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) examination for lecturer posts in government polytechnic colleges.
The case involves the alleged manipulation of answer sheets and mark sheets in a Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) examination for 1,058 lecturer posts at government polytechnic colleges.
The FIR was filed in 2017 by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Greater Chennai Police and a chargesheet filed by the state police in 2021.
ED, Chennai Zonal Office has conducted search operations on 23.06.2026 at 21 premises located at Chennai, Madurai, Trichy and Coimbatore under PMLA, 2002, in connection with the case of tampering of OMR sheets in the Lecturers Recruitment Examination for Government Polytechnic… pic.twitter.com/0iuzgOIIi7
— ED (@dir_ed) June 25, 2026
In a statement, the ED said it “conducted search operations on June 23 at 21 premises located in Chennai, Madurai, Trichy and Coimbatore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the case of tampering of OMR sheets in the Lecturers Recruitment Examination for government polytechnic colleges conducted by the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) in 2017.”
It said: “The FIR alleged that during the post-examination scanning at TRB, the accused digitally altered the scanned images and inflated the marks of select candidates against the final answer key. The accused had arranged an extra set of 385 secondary OMR sheets bearing the names of the same select candidates. As a result, 262 undeserving candidates were fraudulently shown as qualified for the post of polytechnic lecturer until the manipulation surfaced through public petitions, leading to re-evaluation, withdrawal of the result and registration of the case. The first chargesheet was filed by Tamil Nadu Police in 2021, and the second chargesheet was filed in October 2023.”
🚨 ED – 2017 TRB recruitment scam 🚨
👉🏻 Accused – V. Subramanian , Mr. Suresh Paul, M/s Datatec (Shaik Dawood Nassar and I. Raghupati)
👉🏻 Rs. 14-16L in cash for each candidate collected .
👉🏻 ED Seized : Cash -13.18 Lakh
56 bank A/c
2 demat A/c are freezed
36 immovable asset pic.twitter.com/CrVXnXUu9R— Hari (@hari_noty) June 25, 2026
The probe by the ED showed that the accused, led by Subramanian and his associate Suresh Paul, with the assistance of technical staff of M/s Datatec (Shaik Dawood Nassar and I. Raghupathi), conspired to tamper with the examination process in 2017. It said that, through a network of agents and middlemen, they targeted willing candidates and collected Rs. 14–16 lakh in cash. The ED said the cash so collected was routed through mule accounts and proxy firms (Trust Enterprises, Wisdom Enterprises and Suriyam Enterprises), as well as the accounts of associates and family members, and was subsequently converted into immovable properties and jewellery.
The ED said: “The searches were aimed at tracing the proceeds of crime associated with the scam. During the searches, several incriminating materials were seized, including records of cash collected by the agents, accused, candidate (carbon) copies of OMR sheets relating to various government examinations kept with the accused/agents, copies of various certificates belonging to candidates, and digital evidence. Cash amounting to Rs. 13.18 lakh was seized. Fifty-six bank accounts and two demat accounts have been frozen. Details of 36 immovable properties having a guidance value of about Rs. 9.67 crore (market value would be more than Rs. 20 crore) held in the names of the accused and their associates have been seized.”
The examination was conducted on September 16, 2017, for 1,058 lecturer posts, with around 1.33 lakh candidates appearing for the test. During the recruitment process, nearly 2,000 candidates were shortlisted for certificate verification. However, investigators found that the marks of approximately 200 candidates had allegedly been inflated by 50 to 100 marks, enabling them to qualify for the next stage of selection. Reportedly, the ED said it would continue the probe.
