Ruben Raj (left) and Sakthi Arjun (right)
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Two persons were arrested by the Villivakkam police in Chennai for allegedly impersonating Tamil Nadu Minister for Public Works and Sports Development, Aadhav Arjuna, creating a fake email ID in his name and attempting to broker ministerial post for Vellore TVK MLA for ₹8 crore.
Based on a complaint from Nisvaaq, the Villivakkam police registered a case against one Venkatesh and others for allegedly creating a fake email account in the name of Mr. Arjuna impersonating him, preparing fake electronic documents and sending false information as part of a criminal conspiracy.
Promise of post
During the investigation, police found that in July 2026, Ruben Raj of Vellore and Sakthi Arjun of Tondiarpet in Chennai allegedly told Dayalan, an acquaintance of Venkatesh, that they knew the Minister and could secure a ministerial post for Vellore MLA M.M. Vinoth Kannan if ₹8 crore was paid.
Believing them, Dayalan conveyed the information to the MLA’s office through Venkatesh.
Police said Ruben Raj allegedly used his laptop to create a fake email ID in the Minister’s name.
Vellore TVK MLA M.M. Vinoth Kannan
| Photo Credit:
C. Venkatachalapathy
He then took a screenshot on his mobile phone of a purported confirmation message received from the fake email account and sent it to Venkatesh via WhatsApp to convince him that the offer was genuine.
The MLA became suspicious and spoke to the accused through a group video call. It was subsequently discovered that the accused had allegedly impersonated the Minister and created a fake email account in an attempt to deceive the MLA and extort money.
Search operation
A police team led by the Inspector of Villivakkam police station conducted an investigation and search operation and arrested Ruben Raj (27) of Virupatchipuram in Vellore district, and Sakthi Arjun (21) of Tiruvottiyur, Chennai.
Two mobile phones and a CPU were seized from them.
Following interrogation, the two accused were produced before a court on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) and remanded in judicial custody.
Published – August 12, 2026 01:12 am IST
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