Chennai, Sept 22:
The Chennai Central Crime Branch (CCB) has summoned Valadi Karthik, a friend of former School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, to appear for questioning on Wednesday in connection with the alleged ₹100-crore fraud involving private school approvals.
The CCB is investigating allegations that money was collected from private schools on the promise of securing government recognition and other approvals. Several persons, including B.T. Arasakumar, have already been arrested in the case.
The police had earlier questioned Anbil Mahesh for nearly seven hours and recorded his statement. The investigation subsequently widened to include his former special aide and School Education Department official Arul Murugan.
Arul Murugan appeared before the CCB pursuant to a summons and was questioned for more than five hours. Investigators reportedly put over 100 questions to him regarding the alleged transactions and the functioning of the network.
The questioning followed searches conducted at premises linked to Anbil Mahesh, Valadi Karthik, Arun Prakash and others. Police had seized documents and other material during the searches, which are now being examined as part of the investigation.
As a follow-up to the investigation, the CCB has now issued a summons to Valadi Karthik directing him to appear before the investigators on Wednesday. His questioning is expected to focus on the documents and other evidence gathered during the searches and the alleged links between the persons under investigation.
The CCB is continuing its probe to establish the flow of money and the individual roles of those allegedly involved in the school recognition racket.