Chennai: A metropolitan magistrate here on Tuesday gave ten hours to the Chennai city central crime branch police to question SRM university chancellor T.R. Pachamuthu to obtain the needed information relating to his arrest for an alleged medical seat scam of Rs 72 crore.
The CCB team could pick him up from the Puzhal jail, where he has been lodged after the arrest on Friday night, at 0730 hours Wednesday and returned to the jail at 1730 hours the same day, the XI metropolitan magistrate S. Prakash said in his order.
A large contingent of police brought in Pachamuthu, who is also the founder of the India Jananayaka Katchi (IJK), an NDA constituent, to the court in the afternoon. Appearing for the CCB, assistant public prosecutor S. Manual Arasu sought the court permission to take the accused under police custody for five days. He submitted that after his arrest, the CCB team had no time to interrogate Pachamuthu and obtain "vital information regarding his alleged crimes" as he was taken to hospitals and then sent to Puzhal for detention.
Opposing this, senior counsel B. Kumar submitted that there was no necessity to interrogate Pachamuthu in police custody. Responding, APP Arasu said the CCB required information on the mysterious disappearance (since late May) of Madhan, head of Vendhar Movies (belonging to Pachamuthu). The police also needed to collect details regarding the money paid by students for medical seats in the SRM medical college, he said.
After an hour-long proceedings, magistrate Prakash granted CCB permission to interrogate Pachamuthu in its custody from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm on Wednesday.
The accused should be subjected medical examination at the prison before being taken by the CCB and again on his being returned to the prison in the evening.
Also, he should be allowed access to his lawyer for ten minutes, once in five hours, said the magistrate, adding that the police should not obtain any signatures from Pachamuthu on blank papers during their questioning.
