DMK leader and Former Tamil Nadu school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was arrested on Monday by the Chennai Central Crime Branch (CCB) in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore scam involving payments from private school managements in exchange for government recognition and statutory clearances.
The arrest by the CCB's Entrustment Document Fraud (EDF-3) wing came hours after the Madras High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail petition. Police arrested Mahesh in Aminjikarai, Chennai, and took him to the Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate for questioning.
According to an official police release, Mahesh will be produced before a court following interrogation.
The case was registered on a complaint by DC Ilangovan, 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.
Strongly condemning the arrest, DMK president MK Stalin accused the ruling TVK government of acting out of "political vendetta".
In a post on X, Stalin said Mahesh had fully cooperated with the investigation. He alleged that the government had ordered the arrest to divert public attention from the state's deteriorating law and order situation and administrative breakdown.
The former chief minister added that Mahesh would legally contest the charges and that the TVK government's attempt to escape public anger through such actions would not succeed.
Senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan accused the DMK of exhibiting "double standards". Reacting to the arrest, she said that if Mahesh had not committed any crime, he should approach the court, prove his innocence and come out clean. The DMK could not simply claim that no crime had taken place, she added.
Earlier on Monday, Justice V Lakshminarayanan of the Madras High Court dismissed Mahesh's anticipatory bail petition after reserving orders on October 16.
The Tamil Nadu government had strongly opposed the plea, describing the case as one involving "financial terrorism". The High Court said the matter required further investigation, according to the prosecution's submissions.
Money allegedly collected in name of "party fund"
Police said around 177 private schools were linked to the alleged collection of more than Rs 100 crore. The money was allegedly collected in the name of a "party fund", with assurances that pending applications for government approvals would be cleared.
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, in exchange for permanent recognition and statutory clearances.
The CCB booked Mahesh under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and named him as an accused in the case. The investigation also involves BT Arasakumar, president of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association, and former MLA Muthukumar, an office-bearer of the Tamil Nadu Parent-Teacher Association and a close aide of the former minister.
The investigating agency alleged that Mahesh directly collected money from schools in the name of a "party fund". It also said witnesses had confirmed meeting the former minister and discussing payments collected from school managements, as well as assurances that government orders would be issued to address their demands.
The CCB had earlier arrested Arasakumar, Suresh and Raja in connection with the case. Arasakumar was arrested on June 27 and later granted bail by the Madras High Court.
Following the registration of the case, CCB personnel conducted searches at residential and office premises linked to Mahesh and his associates Valadi Karthik, Arun Prakash and Prakash, as well as Saravanan, Ramesh and Gokulakrishnan, relatives of Muthukumar.
The searches were conducted across Chennai, Tiruchirappalli and Kallakurichi, and key documents and electronic devices were seized, according to a police release.
Police said further investigation was under way.
The FIR includes charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The complaint was initially brought forward by the former general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association, according to the second account of the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate the money trail linked to the alleged scam.
(With inputs from PTI)