CHENNAI: The special court for Prevention of Corruption Act cases on Monday granted police custody to former state school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi till Wednesday.
Mahesh was arrested on October 26 by the Chennai Central Crime Branch (CCB) in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore scam. The case was registered on a complaint by D.C. Elangovan, secretary of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu, alleging that money was collected from school managements on the promise of securing government approvals, including permanent recognition, school upgradation, Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) clearances and other statutory permissions.
The case was registered under Sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust by a public servant) and 318(4) (cheating that dishonestly induces a person to deliver property), read with Section 3(5) (joint liability arising from common intention), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Mahesh is also accused of collecting money from more than 1,000 private school managements in the guise of a "party fund" during his tenure as school education minister from 2021 to 2026.
So far, four others, including former DMK MLA V Muthukumar, BT Arasakumar, and two others, have been arrested in the case.