Former Tamil Nadu minister arrested in ₹100 crore scam:Allegedly took funds from 1,000 private schools for party, granted approvals in return

Tamil Nadu’s former school education minister and DMK leader Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi was arrested on Monday in the ₹100 crore private school scam case. Mahesh is accused of extorting money from the managements of more than 1,000 private schools in the name of a ‘party fund’ during his tenure as school education minister from 2021 to 2026. In return, the schools were allegedly granted permanent recognition and other administrative approvals. Mahesh had also filed for anticipatory bail in the Madras High Court. His petition was dismissed on Monday. A few hours later, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Greater Chennai Police arrested him. 1. What is the case about? The case concerns the collection of money in the name of securing government approvals for private schools. According to the complaint, office-bearers of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association contacted school managements and took money after assuring them that they would secure government approvals. 3. Who filed the complaint and how did the case begin? The case began with a complaint by D.C. Elangovan, who is associated with organisations of private schools in Tamil Nadu. He has been identified as the secretary of the Federation of Associations of Private Schools, Tamil Nadu. The complaint alleged that B.T. Arasakumar and other office-bearers collected membership fees and other amounts from private schools. It was claimed that, in return, the schools would be secured government no-objection certificates, licences, permanent recognition, renewals and other approvals. According to the complaint, the promises were not fulfilled despite the money being collected. 5. What are the allegations against Anbil Mahesh? Police allege that Mahesh either directly took money from the school management in the name of an alleged “party fund” or played a role in collecting it. According to the investigating agency, some witnesses said they had met him and discussed school approvals with him. Besides B.T. Arasakumar, the name of former MLA Muthukumar has also emerged in the case. According to reports, Muthukumar is absconding. He is said to be close to Mahesh. 6. What argument did Anbil Mahesh make? Mahesh told the court that there was no record to prove that he had personally received any illegal money. He also argued that some people may have used his name to collect money from schools, and that the complainant’s displeasure with the president of the association could also have been a reason for the complaint.