Former ADMK Minister Saroja has been absconding in a cheating case and the Tamil Nadu Police have intensified the search after she had withdrawn her anticipatory bail petition. Saroja had served as the Tamil Nadu Minister for Social Welfare in the previous ADMK regime led by Edappadi Palaniswami. The development of the police lookout against the former minister has become fresh trouble for the already faltering ADMK. 

A cheating case was filed against Saroja this September that she had cheated to the scale of Rs 76 lakh with fake job assurance. In the complaint, the complainant has alleged that Saroja has cheated him of Rs 76.50 lakh with the promise that she will get a government job. 64-year-old Gunaseelan, who is a retired government employee, is the complainant and he has moved his complaint to the Rasipuram police station in the Namakkal district. 

Gunaseelan has said, "I was working in the Tamil Nadu cooperatives department and after retirement, I have been working as a bond writer and when Saroja was serving as the Minister, she has said to us that there are vacancies in Anganwadis and a job will be assured for those who pay money. With this promise, my wife and I had reached out to our relatives and assured them that they would get a government job if they pay. With that assurance, we had managed to collect Rs 76.50 lakh from 15 people." 

He stated, "We have paid Rs 50 lakh to the minister as the first instalment and during this transaction, Saroja's husband Logaranjan was also present. With this money, the coupled had bought a new residence near Rasipuram, where they are residing currently. I have given the remaining Rs 26.50 lakh to Saroja's husband in her presence. However, Saroja didn't provide the government job as she assured for the people from whom we bought the money. People who had given money to us are now asking us to pay the money back." 

"Though we make our situation clear, they say that they had given money to us and we are responsible for that money. Due to this tension, we are mentally disturbed and I appeal to the police to provide security to me and to my family", Gunaseelan added in his complaint. Based on his complaint, the Rasipuram police had filed a case against Saroja and her husband on the grounds of cheating and attempt murder. After knowing that the case was filed against them, Saroja and her husband have absconded to evade the arrest.

Amid being on run, they had filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Namakkal Court. The court had adjourned the hearing twice and it was scheduled to hear the matter on November 15. However, when the plea came to the hearing on Monday, Saroja's counsel has said that she has decided to withdraw the anticipatory bail and after the consent from the judge, the petition was withdrawn. According to our sources, the former minister had withdrawn the petition as she had planned to file a fresh one before the Madras High Court. On the other hand, the police had intensified the search to nab her after she had withdrawn her anticipatory bail petition.