Chennai Police on Monday arrested former Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi in connection with an alleged 100-crore rupees fraud involving private school managements across the state. The arrest was executed by a special team of the Central Crime Branch hours after the Madras High Court rejected his anticipatory bail application. Investigators are examining allegations that substantial sums were extracted from private institutions under the pretext of granting regulatory clearances, permanent recognition, and infrastructure approvals during his ministerial tenure from 2021 to 2026.
Origin of the complaint and middleman nexus
The investigation stemmed from a formal complaint submitted to the Chennai Police Commissioner by C. Elangovan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Federation. The complaint accused 59-year-old B.T. Arasakumar of soliciting major sums from school managements through an allegedly unregistered body named the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association. Arasakumar had approached private school administrators offering to secure building plan approvals, school upgradations, and permanent state recognitions, reportedly citing his proximity to the ruling establishment to facilitate the clearances.
Following the initial complaint, Arasakumar was detained under the Goondas Act. The scope of the inquiry broadened after the Central Crime Branch uncovered documentation indicating that funds collected from school administrators were described as political party funds. The findings prompted the agency to name Poyyamozhi as an accused in the case, directing the investigation toward the relationship between state regulators, political figures, and private school administrators.
Manhunt for associate and Central Crime Branch findings
As the Central Crime Branch works through the documentary trail, officers have mounted a search for an alleged associate of the former minister identified as Muthukumar, who is reportedly absconding. Police teams are tracking his whereabouts to determine how the payments were collected and routed between institutions and middlemen. The investigation seeks to reconstruct the administrative leverage allegedly applied to private school managements seeking mandatory departmental clearances.
The detention of the former minister follows findings that private school managements felt compelled to make substantial payments to avoid administrative bottlenecks. With Poyyamozhi in custody, investigators are verifying records seized during the preliminary inquiry, mapping out the suspected transaction channels, and establishing the specific roles of each individual named in the proceedings.
Enforcement Directorate opens parallel money trail probe
The case has taken on a wider financial dimension with the Enforcement Directorate initiating a parallel investigation into the alleged 100-crore rupees operation. The central agency is examining the broader money trail to determine the ultimate beneficiaries, the movement of funds through intermediaries, and the potential conversion of regulatory extortions into political party accounts.
Regulatory processes such as school recognitions and building approvals form the foundation of the state’s school governance, and investigators are scrutinizing whether official procedures were systematically misused to demand illicit funds. With the anticipatory bail plea turned down by the High Court, police custody will allow investigators to interrogate Poyyamozhi directly. The allegations against the former minister, Arasakumar, and other accused persons have not yet been established in a court of law, and the outcome will depend on the final findings submitted during judicial proceedings.
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