Anbil Mahesh’s home searched in Rs 100-cr ‘school approval scam’; DMK cries foul

After former DMK ministers PK Sekar Babu, EV Velu, K Ponmudi and KN Nehru, it is the turn of Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi to face the heat of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government for alleged corruption during his tenure as the school education minister in the previous government.

The allegation against him is linked to an alleged Rs 100-crore “private school approval fraud”. Investigators say evidence from his tenure links him to a network that collected money from private school managements by promising permanent recognition, upgrade, DTCP clearances and other government approvals.

In that connection, sleuths of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Greater Chennai Police searched his residence and linked premises on Wednesday (September 16).

DMK cadres gather outside Mahesh’s home

As the CCB search began around 7.30 am, DMK cadres quickly converged outside Anbil Mahesh’s Thennur Anna Nagar house in Tiruchi, filling the street while police stood guard at the gate.

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Party workers continued to gather in growing numbers through the morning as the eight-hour operation continued inside. KN Nehru spoke to Mahesh by phone and tried to enter the premises, but the officials on duty barred him from doing so.

The searches covered six locations in all, with four properties directly linked to the former minister and two to his aide Valadi Karthik in Chennai and Tiruchi. The sleuths seized school approval files, petitions submitted to government offices, financial records, computers, mobile phones and hard drives.

How is Anbil Mahesh connected to the case?

The probe originated from a complaint by C Elangovan, secretary of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools in Tamil Nadu.

Based on the complaint, police arrested BT Arasakumar, 59, of Saligramam. He allegedly ran an unregistered body called the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association and collected more than Rs 100 crore from managements. Mahesh and senior department officials allegedly attended the association’s launch in December 2024.

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Subsequently, two others were also arrested, and 20 bank accounts linked to Arasakumar’s family and 29 linked to another accused, Muthukumar, were frozen. Investigators have so far examined 177 private schools and questioned more than 250 people, including School Education Department officials.

After examining departmental records, financial transactions, witness statements, and electronic evidence, the CCB registered a case against Anbil Mahesh under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Police say the material is sufficient to establish a corruption case. He has been asked to appear for questioning on September 18.

Political vendetta, say DMK leaders

Former chief minister and DMK chief MK Stalin called the raids “a blatant act of political vendetta” and a diversionary tactic. He listed unresolved issues such as power cuts, the Pattinapakkam fishermen’s protest, those still missing in Nepal, Aavin milk shortage, a double murder in Ramanathapuram, a bus driver killed during a Ganesh Puja procession, and an alleged incident involving a TVK functionary and a woman constable to accuse the government of using the raid to deflect public anger. “False allegations will not stand in court,” he said.

Anbil Mahesh, speaking after the eight-hour search, said officers took education department documents from his house. He described the action as political spite triggered by his criticism of the new secretariat project and by-election campaigning.

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“We are not mushrooms that sprouted after yesterday’s rain. DMK is a 75-year-old movement. Cadres are not afraid. There is no burden on our shoulders and no fear on the road,” he claimed. He further alleged that the police officers “politely threatened” people at the searched premises to speak against him. After the September 18 inquiry, he plans to campaign in Dharapuram.

KN Nehru claimed the searches were being used to intimidate active DMK leaders. “This is political vendetta. We will face it in court,” he said.

DMK ministers in the dock

Nehru himself faces a Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) FIR over alleged irregularities in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department. The case includes an alleged Rs 888-crore cash-for-jobs racket and tender manipulation in contracts worth about Rs 1,020 crore. His relatives and officials have been named in the FIR, which drew on Enforcement Directorate material, including chats and calculation sheets.

Velu, former PWD and highways minister, is also under DVAC investigation for alleged irregularities in road and other contracts. Raids have already been conducted at multiple locations linked to him.

Ponmudi faces a hate-speech case over remarks on Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and women. A Chennai magistrate issued a non-bailable warrant after he failed to appear in court; the high court has reserved orders on related pleas.

Sekar Babu has been booked for making alleged derogatory remarks against Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and Law Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar during DMK protests on September 12. Police registered the case under multiple BNS sections after a TVK supporter’s complaint.

LoP not spared either

Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin has been drawn into a legal battle too. On August 4, he was arrested from his Neelankarai residence in Chennai and taken to Thanjavur after the TVK women’s wing accused him of making a sexually suggestive, double-meaning remark at a Cauvery protest the previous day linking Chief Minister Vijay and actor Trisha.

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Police booked him under multiple Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections covering insult to a woman’s modesty, using obscene words in public, promoting enmity, criminal intimidation and related offences, besides provisions of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and the IT Act.

He was questioned for about 90 minutes and released the same night on station bail after the Madras High Court recorded the State’s assurance that there was no plan to remand him.

Senior political observer Shanmugam Dhayalan had a warning for the TVK. “Filing cases in large numbers will only strengthen the DMK. Cases must be filed properly and action taken on the basis of evidence. Only then will people respect it. TVK must understand this. If the government cannot prove the corruption charges in court, it could land in trouble. These should not end merely as political cases,” he said.