A functionary of actor-politician Vijay’s party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) was arrested on Monday in connection with an alleged financial fraud case involving more than Rs 25 crore in Pudukkottai,
police said.
The accused, Saravanan, is a central district executive committee member of TVK and hails from the Thiruvappur area in Pudukkottai city. The District Crime Branch police arrested him after receiving multiple complaints from investors accusing him of collecting large sums of money by promising high returns.
According to investigators, Saravanan had allegedly borrowed money from private lenders and influential persons in and around Pudukkottai over several years. Police said he collected amounts ranging between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore from different individuals, assuring them of lucrative investment returns.
Officials further alleged that in certain cases, he sought money citing his mother’s illness and other personal emergencies.
Police said more than 100 people were allegedly cheated of over Rs 25 crore after Saravanan failed to repay the money collected from them. Several victims also told police that they had been unable to reach him on his mobile phone for the last 15 days.
Amid recent political developments in Tamil Nadu, some complainants alleged that the accused might attempt to evade repayment by misusing the name of the ruling party. Over the past 10 days, multiple complaints were submitted to the Pudukkottai District Superintendent of Police.
Following the complaints, the District Crime Branch launched a search operation and traced Saravanan in another state before arresting him. He was subsequently brought to the District Crime Branch office in Pudukkottai for questioning.
Tension prevailed outside the Superintendent of Police’s office after news of the arrest emerged, with more than 100 affected persons gathering there and demanding action against the accused.
Some protesters reportedly demanded that Saravanan be handed over to them, saying they would “take care of him themselves”.
Police later pacified the crowd and assured them that a formal case had been registered and that the accused would be produced before a court. Officials also said Saravanan would be taken into custody for further investigation and that efforts would be made to recover the money and return it to the victims.
The arrest comes days after Vijay took oath as the Tamil Nadu chief minister. TVK had emerged as the single-largest party in the Assembly elections but fell short of the majority mark of 118 seats in the 234-member House. The party later secured support from smaller regional parties and independent MLAs to form the government.
The election outcome marked a major political shift in Tamil Nadu, ending the decades-long dominance of the DMK and AIADMK-led alliances in the state.
