Anbil Mahesh arrested in Rs 100 cr private schools ‘scam’

Chennai: 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 a case of a Rs 100 crore scam involving the alleged collection of money from private school managements. The arrest by CCB’s Entrustment Document Fraud (EDF-3) wing came shortly after the Madras High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail petition earlier in the day. Police picked up Mahesh from Aminjikarai in the city and brought him to the Greater Chennai Police Commissionerate for questioning.

According to an official police release, Mahesh will be produced before a court following interrogation. Strongly condemning the arrest, DMK president M K Stalin accused the ruling TVK government of acting with a “political vendetta”. In a post on X, Stalin said Mahesh had been fully cooperating with the investigation. He alleged that the government carried out the arrest to divert public attention from the state’s deteriorating law and order situation and administrative breakdown.

Stalin added that Mahesh would face the charges legally and that the TVK government’s attempt to escape public anger through such actions would not succeed. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan hit out at the DMK, accusing the party of exhibiting “double standards”. Reacting to the sudden arrest, she stated that if Mahesh had not committed any crime, he should go to court, prove his innocence, and come out clean. However, the DMK cannot simply claim that no crime had taken place at all, she added.

Police said three co-accused, identified as B T Arasakumar, Suresh, and Raja, have already been arrested in connection with the cheating case, registered over allegations of collecting huge sums of money from private school administrations by promising government recognition and various statutory approvals. Mahesh is accused of collecting money from over 1,000 private school managements in the guise of a “party fund” during his tenure as School Education Minister (2021-26), in exchange for permanent recognition and statutory clearances.

Following the registration of the case, CCB sleuths conducted extensive searches at residential and office premises belonging to Mahesh, his aides Valadi Karthik, Arun Prakash, and Prakash, as well as Saravanan, Ramesh, and Gokulakrishnan (relatives of one Muthukumar) across Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, and Kallakurichi. Key documents and electronic devices were seized during those raids, a release said.

Earlier in the day, Justice V Lakshminarayanan of the Madras High Court denied pre-arrest bail to Mahesh, dismissing his petition after having reserved orders on October 16. The Tamil Nadu government had vehemently opposed the bail plea before the High Court, describing the case as one involving “financial terrorism”.

The FIR includes charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) following a complaint initially brought forward by the former General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also registered an enforcement case information report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe the money trail linked to the alleged scam. Police said further investigation into the case is underway.

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The Hans India