Tamil Nadu ADGP Jayaram arrested for alleged role in kidnapping minor
Madras High Court also directs KV Kuppam MLA Poovai Jagan Moorthy to appear before the investigating officer and cooperate with the probe in the same case
In a key development, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) HM Jayaram was arrested by the Tamil Nadu police at the Madras High Court in Chennai on Monday (June16), after a direct order from Justice P Velmurugan.
The court has also directed the KV Kuppam MLA ‘Poovai’ Jagan Moorthy, leader of the Puratchi Bharatham Katchi, to appear before the investigating officer and cooperate with the probe.
The arrest is linked to a May 10 kidnapping case in Tiruvallur district, where Jayaram is accused of involvement in the abduction of a minor, the brother of Dhanush, a young man who had married a woman against her family's wishes.
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During the hearing, the court ordered the immediate arrest of Jayaram, a 1996-batch IPS officer currently serving as ADGP of the Armed Police in Chennai. Jayaram, who appeared in the court as directed, was arrested and will be interrogated for his alleged role in the kidnapping.
The abduction
The case involves Dhanush from Kalapakkam, Tiruvallur, who had married a woman he met via Instagram. The marriage was legally registered.
However, the woman’s family, opposing the union, allegedly hired goons to kidnap Dhanush. In his absence, they abducted his younger teenage brother from his house, who was later released.
Investigations revealed Jayaram’s car was used in the abduction, implicating both him and Jagan Moorthy.
The victim’s family filed a habeas corpus petition before Justice P Velmurugan at the Madras High Court, who already ordered both Jagan Moorthy and Jayaram to appear before the court today.
Sharp rebuke
Justice Velmurugan, censuring Jagan Moorthy, said, “Are you not an MLA? Do you remember your constituency? Do you know by how many votes you won? The people elected you to serve them, not to engage in rowdyism."
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"When the police come to investigate, isn’t it your duty to cooperate? Instead, you seek anticipatory bail and pressure for an urgent hearing by circling the judge’s residence. Is this appropriate conduct? Did you think your actions would intimidate a judge? An MLA should set an example for the public, not behave in this manner," he added.
The court condemned Jagan Moorthy’s actions, particularly for arriving with party cadres, which had caused tension at the court premises, and for allegedly attempting to influence the judicial process. It further instructed the police to interrogate Jagan Moorthy if necessary, deferring his anticipatory bail hearing to June 26.
