CHENNAI:
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Chennai Police on Wednesday conducted searches at six locations linked to former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore private school recognition fraud case. The searches included his residence at Thennur Anna Nagar in Tiruchy and an apartment on Greenways Road in Chennai.
A five-member CCB team began the search at Anbil Mahesh’s Tiruchy residence around 7.30 am. Police personnel were deployed outside the house as the operation continued. Searches were also carried out simultaneously at other locations in Chennai and Tiruchy allegedly connected with the former minister.
The case relates to allegations that large sums of money were collected from private school managements by promising to secure government approvals and clearances, including recognition, upgradation of schools, permanent recognition and building plan approvals. Police have alleged that more than Rs 100 crore was collected from several school managements in the process.
The investigation gained momentum following the arrest of B T Arasakumar by the CCB in June. According to the police case, Arasakumar allegedly collected money from private schools by claiming that he could use his political and official contacts to obtain the required approvals. He is alleged to have operated through an unregistered body called the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association.
Police are also examining the alleged network through which the money was collected and the manner in which applications and approvals were handled. The investigation is expected to focus on documents, financial transactions and communications linked to private school managements.
Anbil Mahesh was the School Education Minister in the previous DMK government during the period in which the alleged transactions took place. Reports said senior officials of the School Education Department and the then minister had attended the launch of the association in December 2024. The former minister has not been accused of collecting money in the reports cited above, and the searches are part of an ongoing investigation.
During the search at the Tiruchy residence, senior DMK leader and former minister K N Nehru was reportedly denied entry while the police operation was under way.
The CCB’s latest action is aimed at gathering documentary and other evidence in the alleged fraud and verifying the links between the persons arrested earlier and those whose premises are now being searched. The investigation is continuing.