Chennai, June 4 : PMK President Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss on Thursday demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged theft of hard disks containing sensitive data from the headquarters of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), claiming that the incident may be linked to an attempt to destroy evidence of past corruption and irregularities.

In a statement, Anbumani expressed shock over reports that multiple hard disks containing crucial official records had gone missing from the power utilityâ??s headquarters in Chennai.

He described the alleged theft of sensitive government data from one of the stateâ??s most important public institutions as a matter of serious concern and said it reflected a failure in safeguarding critical records.

According to reports cited by the PMK leader, as many as 18 hard disks were allegedly stolen from computers at the TNEB headquarters.

However, only eight hard disks have reportedly been mentioned in the complaint filed with the police.

Anbumani questioned the discrepancy and alleged that the actual number of missing hard disks could be much higher than what has been officially disclosed.

He further claimed that the missing storage devices were believed to contain information relating to coal procurement, contracts, administrative decisions and records connected to alleged irregularities in the electricity sector.

Given the nature of the data, he said suspicions had arisen that the theft could have been part of a larger conspiracy to erase evidence of corruption within the power utility.

The PMK chief also raised concerns about security arrangements at the TNEB headquarters. He argued that access to the premises is tightly controlled and that it would be difficult for outsiders to enter and remove official equipment without assistance from insiders.

This, he said, raises questions about possible involvement of officials or employees in the incident.

Anbumani also referred to allegations that surveillance cameras installed at the headquarters had remained non-functional for more than five years. If true, he said, such a prolonged failure of monitoring systems at a key government office was unacceptable and required immediate scrutiny.

Describing the power sector as one of the most corruption-prone sectors in the state, the PMK leader urged the Tamil Nadu government to order a comprehensive investigation into the alleged theft, identify those responsible and determine whether the disappearance of the hard disks was intended to conceal evidence of wrongdoing.

He also sought answers on why surveillance systems were allegedly left inoperative for years despite the sensitivity of the records housed at the facility.

/IANS