Chennai, Oct 27:
Former Tamil Nadu School Education Minister and senior DMK leader Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was arrested on Monday evening in connection with an alleged Rs 100-crore private school fraud case, hours after the Madras High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail petition in the morning. He was produced before a special court late at night and remanded in judicial custody till November 6 in the early hours of Tuesday. He was subsequently taken to Puzhal Central Prison amid tight security.
The arrest followed a series of swift developments throughout Monday. Chennai Crime Branch (CCB) police arrested Anbil Mahesh from an apartment in Chennai and took him to the Chennai Police Commissionerate for questioning. After several hours of interrogation, he was taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for a medical examination before being produced before Special Court Judge Sathyamoorthy, who deals with cases investigated by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). The proceedings, marked by intense arguments between the prosecution and defence, lasted nearly three hours.
Dismissing his anticipatory bail plea, Justice V. Lakshminarayanan observed that Anbil Mahesh was a politically influential person who could potentially tamper with evidence.
After emerging from the hospital, Anbil Mahesh told reporters that he had fully cooperated with the investigation and would face the case in accordance with the law. He expressed confidence that he would prove his innocence.