Karthik, one of the accused.
Five more persons were arrested on Thursday over an alleged bid to bribe a TVK MLA to vote against the Speaker during a planned no-confidence motion in the Assembly and topple the government, bringing the total number of arrests made so far to eight.The five persons arrested on Thursday are Selvan, 54, of Pallikaranai; Srinivasan, 46, of Manapakkam; Rajesh, 43, of Hastinapuram; Ramesh, 45, of Karur; and Karthik, 43, of Karur. According to the police, Karthik is a close associate of former Minister and DMK MLA V. Senthilbalaji.They were produced before the Principal Sessions Court and remanded in judicial custody.The remand proceedings were delayed by nearly six hours, as the court scrutinised the remand papers and additional documents submitted by the investigating officers.Police sources said the delay was due to an additional memorandum filed by the investigation team, naming Mr. Senthilbalaji and his brother, V. Ashok Kumar. The court examined the legal provisions relating to the inclusion of their names before taking a decision on the remand request.On Wednesday, the police arrested Thirunavukkarasu of Arumbakkam; Naresh of Tiruchi; and Thiyagarajan of Medavakkam in connection with the case.The arrests were made based on a complaint filed by Uthangarai MLA N. Elayaraja. The complainant alleged that Thirunavukkarasu, who claimed to be the head of a polling organisation named Indian Political Democratic Strategies, had contacted him on behalf of a major political party, and offered him up to ₹35 crore for cooperation during the no-confidence motion against the Speaker. When he declined the offer, Thirunavukkarasu allegedly threatened him and his family with dire consequences if he disclosed their conversation to anyone.Inquiries revealed that Mr. Ashok Kumar had met Naresh in Chennai, and that Thirunavukkarasu had contacted the MLA and carried out other acts as per the instructions of Mr. Senthilbalaji and Mr. Ashok Kumar.The probe also revealed that Karthik and Ramesh had held talks with Naresh at star hotels on ECR. Naresh then invited Srinivasan, Selvan, and Rajesh to a star hotel at Guindy, through Thiyagarajan, and conspired with them to seek the MLA’s cooperation.The sources said the police had decided to hold inquiries with Mr. Senthilbalaji and his brother over their alleged involvement.Investigation would be carried out to find out whether more MLAs were approached in a similar way by the gang, the police said. Published - July 03, 2026 12:55 am IST
