An official of actor and politician Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), has been arrested in connection with an alleged financial fraud case involving more than $25 crore in Pudukkottai, police said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Saravanan, is a member of the party’s central zone executive committee and belongs to Thiruvapur area of Pudukottai city. District Crime Branch police arrested him after multiple complaints from investors who alleged that he collected huge sums of money from them by promising them high returns.
Fraud
Saravanan has allegedly borrowed money from prominent individuals and private lenders in and around Pudukkottai over the past several years. Investigators told ANI that he collected amounts ranging from $30 lakh for $1.5 crore from different people, often ensuring them lucrative returns on investment.
In some cases, the accused allegedly cited his mother’s ill health and other personal emergencies while seeking money from lenders, police said.
Officials claimed that Saravanan collected more than $25 crore from over 100 people but later failed to repay it. The victims also claimed that they were not able to contact him on his mobile phone for the past 15 days.
Fearing that the accused might evade payment by misusing the name of the ruling party amid the recent political developments in Tamil Nadu, several aggrieved persons have lodged complaints with the Pudukkottai District Superintendent of Police over the past 10 days.
Read also: How Rahul Gandhi’s fake ‘secretary’ cheated Congress leaders across states
Based on the complaints, the District Crime Branch launched a search operation and eventually tracked down Saravanan from another state and arrested him. He was later brought to the District Crime Branch office in Pudukottai for interrogation.
Tension prevailed in the police director’s office after news of the arrest spread, as more than 100 affected people gathered in the building to demand action against the accused. Some protesters reportedly demanded that Saravanan be handed over to them, saying they would “take care of him themselves”.
Police officials later calmed the crowd and assured them that a formal case had been registered against the accused and that he would be produced before the court. Officials also said that Saravanan will be detained for further investigation and efforts will be made to recover the money and return it to the victims.
Arrest days after Vijay became president
The arrest comes a few days after Vijay was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. TVK emerged as the single largest party in the state but was unable to achieve a majority of 118 seats in the 234-member Assembly. The party later gained the support of smaller regional outfits and independent MLAs to demand formation of the government.
The elections marked a major political shift in Tamil Nadu, ending the long-standing dominance of the DMK-AIADMK-led alliances in the state.
