Chennai: Conman claiming links to ex-minister cheats govt job aspirant of Rs 23 Lakh

CHENNAI: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Greater Chennai Police arrested a 60-year-old man from Ariyalur for allegedly cheating a Chennai-based senior citizen of Rs 23 lakh by promising an assistant engineer post in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) for his son.

The accused, identified as L Ilanchezhiyan (60), had allegedly claimed to have close ties with former transport minister and DMK MLA SS Sivasankar.

After initial reports claimed that the former minister's assistant was arrested, the DMK leader stated that he has no ties with the person arrested by the police and that he has no assistant named Ilanchezhiyan.

A police team picked the accused from Erode on Tuesday, from whom they seized two ID cards in which he falsely claimed to be a District Education Officer.

According to police, the complainant S Srinivasan (65), a resident of MGR Nagar in Chennai, alleged that Ilanchezhiyan claimed close ties with the then transport minister. Between 2023 and 2025, he took Rs 23 lakh in multiple installments after convincing Srinivasan that he would secure an assistant engineer job in MTC for his son.

However, the accused neither arranged the job nor returned the money. Preliminary investigation revealed that Ilanchezhiyan may have cheated several other people using similar job promises.

The police said inquiries with other potential victims are under way. The accused has been remanded in judicial custody.