Former Tamil Nadu minister Anbil Mahesh arrested in alleged Rs100-crore school scam

Former Tamil Nadu school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was arrested in Chennai on Monday evening, hours after the Madras High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in an alleged Rs100-crore fraud involving money collected from private schools in exchange for government approvals.

Poyyamozhi, the former school education minister (2021–2026), was arrested by the Chennai Central Crime Branch (CCB) at an apartment in Aminjikarai, after Justice V Lakshminarayanan dismissed his plea earlier Monday.

The case centres on an unregistered association headed by B T Arasakumar which, investigators allege, collected money from private-school managements by promising permanent recognition, school upgrades and building approvals. More than 177 school managements have come forward; investigators say Rs17.26 crore has been traced so far, while the prosecution told the court collections could amount to Rs400 crore — figures that are allegations, not proven losses.

Poyyamozhi is the fifth accused in the case. The FIR was initially registered under Sections 316(5), 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and an alteration report filed on 9 September added Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In a 20-page order, Justice Lakshminarayanan said granting anticipatory bail at this stage would “paralyse the investigation” and that custodial interrogation was necessary, noting material suggesting Poyyamozhi had shielded absconding co-accused Muthukumar. His counsel argued he had cooperated, answering 240 questions over eight hours on 18 September.

The Enforcement Directorate has also registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to trace the financial trail.

Sources:

• The Indian Express: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chennai/vijay-led-tamil-nadu-government-arrests-former-education-minister-anbil-mahesh-poyyamozhi-10937487/
• DT Next: https://www.dtnext.in/news/tamilnadu/ccb-arrests-anbil-mahesh-after-hc-rejects-bail-plea-in-rs-100-crore-pvt-school-fraud-case
• Mathrubhumi: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/anbil-mahesh-poyyamozhi-arrested-school-approvals-scam-c5wc20ie