T.N. teenager kidnap case: Why has suspended ADGP not been summoned, Madras High Court asks CB-CID

The Madras High Court on Tuesday (July 22, 2025) wanted to know why the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) had, so far, not summoned suspended Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) H.M. Jayaram for inquiry in connection with his alleged involvement in a kidnapping case.

Justice G. Jayachandran raised the question during the hearing of a bail petition filed by the accused V. Vanaraja, P. Manikandan, and M. Ganesan, who were arrested and remanded to judicial custody by the Tiruvalangadu police in Tiruvallur district in connection with the same case on June 9, 2025.

Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran, assisted by Additional Public Prosecutor R. Muniyapparaj, told the court that the CB-CID, to which the investigation was subsequently transferred, had summoned the suspended ADGP for inquiry on July 24, 2025, and that the investigation was proceeding in the right direction.

After recording his submission, the judge directed the present investigating officer to submit the Case Diary for the perusal of the court and decided to pass orders on the bail plea after going through the records and taking stock of the progress made so far by the investigating team.

What is the case about?

On June 16, 2025, Additonal Public Prosecutor A. Damodaran made a startling disclosure before Justice P. Velmurugan regarding the suspected involvement of the ADGP in the kidnapping case, also involving Kilvaithinakuppam (Reserved) MLA ‘Poovai’ M. Jagan Moorthy of Puratchi Bharatham party.

According to the prosecution, a youngster from Tiruvallur district had got married to a woman from a different caste from Theni district in May 2025. The woman’s father Vanaraja had sought the assistance of the MLA as well as the ADGP, through some of his acquaintances, to trace the youngster.

On June 7, 2025, a gang had trespassed into the youngster’s residence at Kalambakkam village in Tiruvallur district in search of him but ended up kidnapping his younger brother, aged 18 years, when the teenager was sleeping on the terrace. Immediately, their mother lodged a police complaint.

After the Tiruvalangadu police launched a search operation, the kidnapped teenager was shifted to the ADGP’s official car in order to evade vehicle-checking and was dropped at a bus stand, the APP had claimed. Subsequently, the Supreme Court transferred the investigation in the case to the CB-CID.