Two held for impersonating TN minister in ₹8 crore ministerial post scam

The Villivakkam police have arrested two men on charges of impersonating a minister, creating a fake email account in his name, and attempting to broker a ministerial post for a Vellore MLA of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for a bribe of ₹8 crore.

The arrests followed a complaint from Nisvaaq, based on which the Villivakkam police registered a case against one Venkatesh and others. According to the police, the accused allegedly created a fake email ID in the name of Aadhav Arjuna, the Minister for Public Works and Sports Development, and used it to send fabricated electronic documents and false information as part of a criminal conspiracy.

Investigations revealed that in July, Ruben Raj of Vellore and Sakthi Arjun of Tondiarpet in Chennai allegedly told Dayalan, an acquaintance of Venkatesh, that they knew the minister and could secure a ministerial position for the Vellore MLA if ₹8 crore was paid. Dayalan reportedly believed them and passed on the information to the MLA's office through Venkatesh.

Police said Ruben Raj allegedly used his laptop to set up a fake email account in the minister's name. He then captured a screenshot on his mobile phone of a purported confirmation message from the fake account and sent it to Venkatesh via WhatsApp to lend credibility to the offer.

The MLA grew suspicious and spoke to the accused through a group video call. It was later found that the accused had impersonated the minister and created the fake email account to deceive the MLA and extort money.

A police team led by the Inspector of Villivakkam police station conducted a search operation and arrested Ruben Raj, 27, of Virupatchipuram in Vellore district, and Sakthi Arjun, 21, of Tiruvottiyur, Chennai. Two mobile phones and a central processing unit (CPU) were seized from their possession.

After interrogation, the accused were produced before a court on Tuesday and remanded in judicial custody. Further investigation is underway.