Chennai: TR Pachamuthu, chancellor of a leading and prestigious private university, SRM, was on Friday arrested by police in connection with alleged irregularities in admission to professional courses. The university top official was arrested after two days of intense questioning following a spate of complaints from students from whom huge amounts of money was charged for admissions to professional courses.

Pachamuthu was summoned by the CBCID of Chennai police for questioning on Thursday night before he was formally arrested on Friday for cheating (Section 420) and criminal breach of trust and was being taken for medical examination.

He is said to be produced before a magistrate at around 4 p.m. in the city.

Over 120 students had complained that they had been guaranteed a medical seat at SRM university and had paid for the same but were not given the medical seats.

In fact, given the stature and political connections of the chancellor not many were initially forthcoming with complaints. But when scores were cheated, they came forward with complants as the sums involved were staggering.

Incidentally, the scam first came to light, when a film producer alleged to be close to Pachamuthu and functioned as his aide, S Madhavan, disappeared after leaving a suicide note. His disappearance triggered a lot of commotion as students parents had given him money to buy a gurantee of a medical seat in the private university.

After the disappearance of Madhavan, the parent of a prospective medical student filed a complaint with the police that they had given a sum of Rs 52 lakh to Madhavan in lieu of a medical seat but so far neither the seat was given nor the money was returned.

Similarly, more than 100 students claimed they had been guaranteed medical seat and had paid for them but were yet to get admission to medical course.

Incidentally the highly successful educationist has dabbled in politics and media as well. Estimated to be worth Rs 10,000 crore, Pachamuthu had floated a political party, IJK (Indiya Jananayaka Katchi) and was the first political outfit to jump onto the Modi bandwagon and became an ally of the BJP in 2014 general elections. He was and is a part of the NDA alliance in the state.