Chennai: Sleuths of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) questioned the SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre’s chairman and managing director T.R. Pachamuthu for hours tohegether on Thursday evening in connection with a medical seat cheating scam worth Rs 75 crore being pursued by the city police.
The case is an offshoot of the investigation into the missing film producer and founder of Vendhar movies, S. Madhan. Summoned by CCB sleuths, Pachamuthu arrived for interrogation at 5.40 pm and the questioning continued late into the night.
A Division Bench comprising Justices S.Nagamuthu and V.Bharathidasan, before whom a habeas corpus petition filed by R.S.Thangam, Madhan’s mother, had come up for hearing on August 18, observed that it would not hesitate to hand over the case to an independent agency if the city police could not find Madhan. The Court also wanted to know as to why the cops were hesitant to question the SRM group chairman.
Four persons, including functionaries of India Jananayaka Katchi (IJK), have been arrested so far by CCB. The SRM Group of institutions is also named as an accused in the case in which a total of 109 complaints came from medical seat aspirants and their kin that they have been cheated to of Rs. 75.39 crore. Madhan is believed to have collected the money on behalf SRM group chairman Pachamuthu.
Police had been claiming that Madhan was hiding somewhere in Nepal, but failed to track him. Fresh information indicates he may be somewhere in Kerala, sources said. Based on a complaint from Dr Jayachandran, police have registered a case under the IPC Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 420 (cheating). Police have named Madan’s manager Sudhir and accountant Guna as accused number 1 and 2 in the FIR.
On May 28, after Madhan ‘went missing’, a letter purportedly written by him was circulated on WhatsApp claiming he was going to Varanasi to attain ‘samadhi’.
Later, Madhan’s wife Sumalatha and other family members expressed before the media their fears that the SRM group was behind Madhan’s disappearance.
Police are expecting to make some breakthrough in the case by August 30, the day when the next hearing of the case will come up in court.
