Aadheenam extortion case | Madras High Court denies bail to BJP Mayiladuthurai district president

Madras High Court denies bail to BJP leader accused of extorting money with obscene videos, citing risk of evidence tampering.

The Madras High Court on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, refused to grant bail to BJP Mayiladuthurai district president K. Agoram, in a case booked against him and six others, for having allegedly attempted to extort money from Dharmapuram Aadheenam Sri La Sri Masilamani Swamy by claiming to be in possession of obscene videos and audio clips related to the Mutt.

Justice T.V. Thamilselvi dismissed his bail petition after a law officer informed the court that the petitioner was an accused person in more than 40 cases and that a history-sheet had been opened against him. The judge was convinced that the petitioner could tamper with evidence if he was enlarged on bail, and took note of the fact that some of the co-accused persons were still absconding.

A special police team had arrested Agoram in Mumbai and remanded him to judicial custody on March 15, 2024 on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Mayiladuthurai police on February 25, 2024. The FIR had been booked following a complaint lodged by Viruthagiri, brother of the Mutt head Masilamani Swamy, with the district Superintendent of Police.

According to the complainant, a person named Vinoth of Adhuthurai and another individual named Senthil serving in the Mutt had jointly begun to threaten him stating that they were in possession of obscene audio clips and video involving the Mutt head and that they would make them public though television channels and social media, if he did not pay them as demanded.

The complainant also stated that the threats were issued through Vignesh of Tiruvengadu Sambakattalai and that the accused person had even attempted to strangle him on many occasions while warning him against approaching the police regarding their demand. He claimed that the threat was issued at the instance of Agoram, advocate Jayachandran of Seiyur and educationist Kodiyarasu.

Mr. Viruthagiri had also stated that the Mutt head and other administrators had been subjected to great mental agony because of the extortion. Hence, the police had booked the FIR under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 389 (putting a person in fear in order to extort), 506 part II (criminal intimidation) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.