Former Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has been booked by the Chennai Central Crime Branch (CCB) in an alleged private school fraud case involving at least Rs 100 crore. The CCB on Wednesday, September 16, searched several premises linked to him in Chennai and Tiruchy.
The case concerns allegations that money was collected from private schools by promising government approvals, including permanent recognition, school upgradation and Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) clearances. Police said money had been collected from 177 private schools, with the amount involved running into at least Rs 100 crore.
The searches followed the addition of Mahesh’s name to the case under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Police said their investigation had uncovered statements, government records and electronic evidence pointing to his alleged role in the case.
The former minister alleged that the searches were politically motivated and linked them to his recent criticism of the TVK government. He cited his criticism of the proposed Rs 1,200-crore Secretariat project and his campaigning for the Opposition in the Dharapuram bypoll.
The CCB had earlier arrested BT Arasakumar, 59, on June 27 in connection with the case. Police allege that Arasakumar ran an unregistered organisation called the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association and collected money from school managements by promising to secure government approvals. Two other people have also been arrested in the case.
The investigation has since expanded across Tamil Nadu, with police questioning more than 250 people, including School Education Department officials. Police have also seized government records and examined financial transactions and digital evidence linked to the accused.
On September 16, CCB teams searched Mahesh’s residence in Tiruchy’s Thennur Anna Nagar and other premises linked to him and his aide Valadi Karthik in Chennai and Tiruchy. The searches lasted more than eight hours. Police said they seized documents, electronic devices, bank details and other material as part of the investigation.
Mahesh said the officers had arrived at his residence around 7.40 am and conducted a detailed search until about 3.40 pm. He said he fully cooperated with the investigation and would appear before the CCB on September 18 as summoned.
Mahesh also said that the documents taken during the search were official records from his tenure as School Education Minister, including files relating to Class 10 and Class 12 results and education department policies. He maintained that nothing illegal was found during the searches.
A large number of DMK cadres gathered outside Mahesh’s Tiruchy residence during the search and raised slogans against the government and police. Former DMK minister and party principal secretary KN Nehru also visited the residence but was not allowed inside while the search was underway.
Nehru alleged that the TVK government was targeting DMK leaders and said he had been told by the police that they had received “instructions from the top” not to allow anyone inside until the search was completed.
DMK president and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin also described the searches as “political vendetta” and alleged that the TVK-led government was using the action to divert attention from issues facing the state. He said the DMK would legally challenge what he called false allegations.