MLA ‘Poovai’ Jagan Moorthy non-cooperative, must be arrested: CB-CID at Madras High Court in Tiruvallur teen kidnap case

The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID), on Friday (June 27, 2025), accused Kilvaithinakuppam (Reserved) MLA ‘Poovai’ M. Jagan Moorthy of not having cooperated with the investigation in an abduction case, initially booked by Thiruvalangadu police in Tiruvallur district on June 7. The agency insisted he must be subjected to custodial interrogation.

Appearing before Justice G. Jayachandran, Additional Advocate General (AAG) J. Ravindran said, the MLA had given evasive replies to the Thiruvalangadu police during the inquiry conducted with him on June 17. Mr. Ravindran submitted that the legislator would speak the truth only if he was arrested and subjected to custodial interrogation. He urged the court to dismiss the MLA’s anticipatory bail petition.

The judge decided to pass orders on the advance bail plea in the course of the day after hearing heated arguments between the AAG and senior counsel S. Prabakaran representing the MLA. Opening the arguments on behalf of the petitioner, the senior counsel said, the Thiruvalangadu police had registered a First Information Report (FIR) on June 7 on the basis of a complaint lodged by a woman named Lakshmi.

According to the prosecution, the complainant’s elder son had fallen in love with a woman from Theni district pursuant to their acquaintance through social media and performed a self-respect marriage with her on April 15. The bride’s father Vanaraja had entered into a criminal conspiracy with the MLA and an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H.M. Jayaram to find out the whereabouts of the couple.

In pursuance of the conspiracy, a gang had abducted the complainant’s younger son from her residence during the wee hours on June 7. However, when the police intensified the search following her complaint, the youth was dropped back near Perambakkam bus stand, within a few hours of his abduction, in the official car of the ADGP to escape the police search, the prosecution claimed.

Stating the FIR was altered pursuant to the arrest of five individuals involved in the abduction and that it was based on the confession given by two of them that the MLA had been implicated in the case, Mr. Prabakaran said, there were no other materials to indicate his involvement in the crime but for the confession statements which could not be relied upon during the conduct of trial.

‘MLA, the brain behind the crime’

On the other hand, the AAG asserted the MLA was the brain behind the entire crime and requested the court to reject his advance bail plea by considering the need to decriminalise politics. The law officer submitted screenshots of a CCTV footage from a hotel where the conspiracy was hatched and said, there were also phone call records between the MLA and the ADGP besides recovery of ₹7.86 lakh from Vanaraja.

“When we inquired the ADGP, he gave ‘X’ reason for having spoken to the MLA on phone but when we inquired the MLA, he gave ‘Y’ reason for having spoken to the ADGP. This contradiction itself shows that they are involved in the crime. The investigation is in a nascent stage since it is only three days since the case was transferred to the CB-CID,” the AAG said. He told the court the police would take action against the ADGP too.

However, Mr. Prabakaran said, the money was not recovered from the MLA and he had already been subjected to inquiry for a whole day on June 17. Assuring the court that the MLA was willing to participate in the further inquiries too, the senior counsel urged the court to grant advance bail after taking into consideration that the MLA had never been booked in such a criminal case in the past.