Chennai Police Arrest 5 More In Rs 35-Crore Bribery Probe Involving TVK MLA
The case stems from a complaint by TVK MLA Dr N Ilayaraja, who alleged that pollster Thirunavukkarasu contacted him claiming to be acting on behalf of functionaries of a major political party.
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Five more people have been arrested in the alleged Rs 35-crore attempt to bribe a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA, taking the total number of arrests in the politically explosive case to eight, the Chennai police said.
The latest arrests come amid a sharp political slugfest, with the DMK alleging the case has been fabricated to frame former minister Senthil Balaji ahead of TVK chief Vijay's visit to Karur.
According to the police, the five arrested are Selvan, EM Srinivasan, Rajesh, Karthik and Ramesh. Investigators say Karthik and Ramesh had met Naresh who's already behind bars, at star hotels on Chennai's East Coast Road to allegedly discuss securing the support of TVK MLAs during a proposed no-confidence motion against the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker, with an alleged offer of Rs 35 crore as inducement.
Police further claims Naresh, through another accused Thiyagarajan, brought Srinivasan, Selvan and Rajesh into the alleged conspiracy during a meeting at a star hotel in Guindy. All five were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. Further investigation is under way.
The case stems from a complaint by TVK MLA Dr N Ilayaraja, who alleged that pollster Thirunavukkarasu contacted him claiming to be acting on behalf of functionaries of a major political party. The MLA alleged he was offered Rs 35 crore to cooperate in a proposed no-confidence motion against the Speaker and was later threatened with consequences for him and his family after he rejected the offer.
Based on the complaint, Chennai Police registered a case and on Wednesday arrested Thirunavukkarasu, Naresh and Thiyagarajan.
The latest developments come amid an increasingly bitter political battle between the ruling TVK and the opposition DMK. The TVK has consistently accused former minister Senthil Balaji of engineering the Karur stampede tragedy in which 41 people, including children, were killed during the party's first state conference ahead of the elections in 2025. Senthil Balaji and the DMK have repeatedly denied the allegation.
The case also unfolds against the backdrop of the DMK accusing the TVK of indulging in "horse-trading" after six AIADMK MLAs resigned and joined the ruling party within weeks of the Assembly election results. The DMK has alleged the defections were part of the TVK's bid to secure a majority of its own in the Assembly.
The opposition DMK has now dismissed the Rs 35-crore bribery case as "politically motivated" and "fabricated", alleging it is an attempt to implicate Senthil Balaji, who hails from Karur, and arrest him before Vijay's scheduled visit to the district.
Vijay is expected to meet the families of the 41 victims of the Karur stampede tragedy.
The DMK has vowed to fight the case legally and prove the allegations false. It has alleged the case was registered to divert public attention from the government's failures, questioned why the Chennai Police, and not the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), is probing an alleged bribery case, and claimed mandatory legal procedures were violated during the arrests.
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