Chennai, Sep 16 (IANS) Central Crime Branch (CCB) police are conducting searches at properties linked to former Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi as part of an investigation into allegations of large-scale bribery connected with approvals granted to private schools.

Police teams began searches at Poyyamozhi’s residence in Tiruchirappalli and an apartment on Greenways Road in Chennai.

The operation is understood to be linked to an ongoing case concerning the alleged collection of bribes in return for securing government recognition and various statutory clearances for private educational institutions.

Poyyamozhi served as School Education Minister during the previous DMK government. A prominent leader of the party, he was twice elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from the Thiruverumbur constituency and subsequently inducted into the Cabinet. He, however, lost his seat in the 2026 Assembly election.

The searches mark a significant development in the investigation being handled by the Chennai Central Crime Branch.

Authorities are examining whether money was collected from private school managements by promising to facilitate official approvals through government departments. Details of documents or electronic devices seized during the searches were not immediately available.

The investigation had earlier led to the arrest of P.D. Arakumar, founder-president of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association and a DMK functionary.

Police alleged that Arakumar had collected more than Rs 100 crore from private school operators after claiming that he could obtain government recognition and other mandatory legal permissions for their institutions.

Arakumar was arrested by the Chennai Central Crime Branch and remanded in judicial custody. Investigators have since been examining financial transactions, communications and other records linked to the alleged collection of money.

The searches at the former minister’s properties are believed to form part of efforts to trace the wider network and determine whether public officials or intermediaries were involved.

Officials have not yet issued a detailed statement specifying the evidence that prompted the searches or clarifying Poyyamozhi’s status in the case.

No information was immediately available on whether he had been questioned during the operation.

The searches were continuing, with police yet to disclose when they began. The allegations remain under investigation, and no court has established wrongdoing by the former minister. Further details are expected after the CCB completes the searches and examines any material recovered from the two locations.

–IANS

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