Anbil Mahesh arrested; high drama precedes his remand

Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi (Middle) after his arrest by Central Crime Branch police on Monday

CHENNAI: Hours after Madras high court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, DMK leader and former minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police here on Monday.But sensational arguments preceded the ex-minister’s remand in judicial custody by a special court in the city. The court remanded him till Nov 6.The case followed a complaint from D C Elangovan, secretary of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu, alleging that B T Arasakumar and Muthukumar had collected more than Rs 100 crore from private school managements by promising to obtain various approvals during the DMK regime.But, in the court, CCB pegged the monetary consideration at Rs 400 crore and argued that the custodial interrogation of Anbil Mahesh was imperative to unearth the scam.Earlier on Monday, a CCB team arrested Mahesh from his advocate’s office in Aminjikarai, and drove him to the police commissioner’s office in Vepery for questioning. After nearly three hours, he was taken to the govt hospital for medical examination before being produced before special judge L S Sathiamurthy.

Seeking his remand, the prosecution said police had enough evidence to link Anbil Mahesh to the suspected fraud.

If not remanded, the ex-minister might tamper with the evidence and influence the witnesses, it said.Earlier, P Wilson, senior counsel for Anbil Mahesh, questioning the arrest, that too right inside the office of his lawyer, immediately after the high court rejected his petition. “Is he a terrorist? Is Tamil Nadu under police rule?” he asked.

He also opposed Anbil Mahesh being remanded in judicial custody, saying no sanction had been obtained from the governor as required under Prevention of Corruption Act.Files pertaining to permits and licenses are not signed by the minister alone, said Wilson, adding that many department officials and secretaries too must affix their signature.The complaint was the result of a rivalry between two associations of private school managements, he said, adding that the complaint was only against B T Arasakumar.The ex-minister cooperated with police and answered queries for about eight hours on Sept 18, the senior counsel said, adding that the income details for 10 years were submitted to police.Police registered a case against Mahesh under Sections 316(5) (criminal breach of trust by a public servant or agent) and 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), read with Section 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).According to police, Arasakumar and Muthukumar claimed to be the founder-president and treasurer, respectively, of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association, an unregistered organisation. They assured school administrators of permanent recognition, approvals for upgrading schools, Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) clearances and other statutory permissions in exchange for money collected as “party funds” for DMK, which was in power at the time.Arasakumar, who claimed to have contacts within govt, failed to secure the promised approvals or return the money. The CCB initially registered a case against him under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, relating to bribery and abetment of offences.Arasakumar was arrested on June 27, while two other accused, Suresh and Raja, were subsequently arrested in connection with the racket. During further investigation, police began probing Mahesh’s suspected involvement and later included him as an accused after recovering evidence allegedly linking him to the collection of bribe money under the guise of party funds.On Sept 16, CCB teams searched nine locations in Chennai and Trichy, including four premises linked to Mahesh. Another round of searches followed on Sept 29. The searches also covered houses and offices associated with the former minister, his aides and relatives of Muthukumar in Chennai, Trichy and Kallakurichi.Among the premises searched were those linked to Mahesh’s aides Valadi Karthik, Arun Prakash and Prakash, besides properties associated with Muthukumar’s relatives Saravanan, Ramesh and Gokulakrishnan.

Investigators seized documents and electronic devices for examination as part of the probe.Police said Muthukumar, believed to be a close associate of the former minister, remained absconding and efforts were under way to trace him.

Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Oct 1 to investigate the alleged money laundering angle in the racket. CCB officials said further investigation was under way to ascertain the involvement of others and trace the money collected from private school managements.