Police search former DMK minister Anbil Mahesh’s home in private school fraud case

The Central Crime Branch, Chennai City, conducted a search at the Tiruchi residence of former Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Wednesday, as part of an investigation into a multi-crore fraud involving private schools during the previous DMK government. The five-member police team began the search at around 7:30 am, with police personnel stationed outside the house as the operation continued.

Searches were also carried out at six other locations in Chennai and Tiruchi linked to the former minister. The investigation centers on allegations that large sums of money were collected from private-school managements under false pretenses of securing official clearances, such as school upgrades, permanent recognition, and building plan approvals.

The Central Crime Branch had previously registered a case and arrested B T Arasakumar, who is accused of collecting approximately Rs 100 crore from private-school managements for these purposes. Arasakumar operated an unregistered organization called the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association. Poyyamozhi, who held the School Education portfolio when the alleged transactions took place, was present during the search, while K N Nehru, a veteran DMK leader and former minister, was denied entry to the residence. This is a developing story, and further updates will be provided.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.