Madurai, Nov 7:
AIADMK propaganda deputy secretary and former Madurai Deputy Mayor P.M. Mannan appeared before the Central Crime Branch (CCB) police in Viswanathapuram on Saturday for an intensive second round of questioning over allegations of attempting to bribe a TVK legislator.
Mannan was initially arrested by a special police team on Friday following a complaint lodged by Kani, the personal assistant to Madurai Central TVK MLA Madhar Badhruddin (alias Mustafa). The legislator alleged that AIADMK functionaries offered between Rs 15 crore and Rs 30 crore to induce him to cross-vote against the TVK government during a future confidence motion or floor test. After a local magistrate declined police remand and released Mannan on Friday, investigators served fresh summons for his personal appearance.
During Saturday’s interrogation, CCB officials confronted Mannan with electronic call records and audio clips to examine whether financial transactions and horse-trading negotiations were routed through political intermediaries. AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami rejected the charges as politically fabricated, denying that the party made any overtures to poach ruling TVK legislators.