On the run for 35 days, former AIADMK minister finally in CB-CID net

TIRUCHY: Senior AIADMK leader and former minister MR Vijayabhaskar, who was on the run for more than a month after being accused of usurping a land worth Rs 100 crore, was finally arrested by the CB-CID in Kerala, on Tuesday. He and an aide were brought back to Karur and are being interrogated in connection with the case.

Vijayabhaskar, seven of his associates and a witness were booked for allegedly grabbing a 22-acre land using fake documents. Sensing that he could be included in the case even before it was registered, Vijayabhaskar and also his brother Sekar approached the Karur District Principal Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail, which was rejected.

Following this, Vijayabhaskar, his brother and their associates went into hiding while the CB-CID team, which had taken over the case, searched the premises they owned. Over the last 35 days, the sleuths fanned across the State and country, including Ariyalur, Perambalur, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Mumbai searching for them.

Meanwhile on Monday, Vijayabhaskar moved the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court with an anticipatory bail plea, which was transferred to the principal seat in Chennai. Before the plea was considered, the team managed to trace and arrest the former minister and an associate named Praveen from Thrissur in Kerala on Tuesday.