TN Minister D Sarathkumar booked in Chennai for alleged cash-for-votes campaign

A formal police complaint has been registered against Tamil Nadu Minister for Human Resources Management D Sarathkumar at the Visaranai Nagar Police Station in Chennai. The complaint alleges that the minister distributed money to induce people to vote during a by-election campaign.

The complaint was officially lodged by a representative of the Election Flying Squad. The action was initiated after a video allegedly showing money being distributed during Minister Sarathkumar's campaign went viral online.

This investigation compounds the existing legal troubles for the minister. Sarathkumar is already facing a separate probe after different visuals surfaced online. Those visuals allegedly showed the minister crushing a white substance with a credit card.

Minister Sarathkumar has denied the allegations of drug use related to the credit card video. He stated that the video is two years old and depicts him crushing medicine. According to the minister, the footage is being deliberately misrepresented.