Former ADMK Minister Manikandan has been absconding with the view of evading the arrest by the police in connection to the sexual harassment charges levelled against him by a Tamil actress. Days after filing a complaint against him, the police had gripped up the manhunt to nab him and to take him under custody for further investigations towards the shocking allegations. 

According to reports, the special team of the police has been intensifying the search to arrest him and deployed the measures to track him. It has been reported that the former ADMK Minister has been at large since the complaint was filed against him under sections of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation. The police had received the input that Manikandan has found a safe haven in Chennai. 

The police officials have gathered the names of Manikandan's friends and assistants and began investigating them to arrest him. The police had strengthened the probe and the special team has rushed to Manikandan's home district of Ramanathapuram to collect the evidence against him and to investigate the people who are in his close circle to ascertain his whereabouts. 

The police officials have said that since Manikandan's mobile hasn't turned off, they are attempting to track his location through mobile with the help of the Cyber Crime department. However, the police are sceptical that Manikandan is not using his mobile at his present location, rather he is communicating with the mobile that belongs to one of his assistants. On Sunday, the Chennai police had booked Manikandan under the grounds of rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation. 

On May 28, a popular Tamil actress had lodged a complaint against Manikandan for refusing to marry her and threatening to kill her if she dares to speak about the illicit relationship. She had alleged that the former minister had refused to marry her after living together for five years. 

She shockingly said that Manikandan had made her pregnant three times. She alleged that Manikandan has forced her to abort the fetus all three times and has tortured her and threatened her that he will release their private photos and will hire mercenaries to kill her if she opens up about the relationship in the public.

Apart from filing a complaint, she had also submitted photographs, WhatsApp chats, and other proofs of her relationship with the former ADMK Minister to the Chennai Police. Based on her complaint, the Adyar All-Women Police station had on Sunday filed a case against Manikandan under sections 376 - rape, 323 - punishment for voluntarily causing hurt, 313- causing miscarriage without woman's consent, 417- punishment for cheating, 506 (i) - criminal intimidation of the Indian Penal Code. The police had also booked a case against the former ADMK Minister under the Information Technology Act. 

Manikandan, who served as the Tamil Nadu Minister for Information and Technology from 2016 to 2019, has gone absconded after the complaint was filed against him. Though he denied the charges and maintained that he doesn't know the actress, he is remaining at large. On the other side, Manikandan's wife Vasanthi had filed a complaint with the Ramanathapuram Superintendent of Police by alleging that the actress has given a falsified complaint against Manikandan with the motive of collapsing her family and causing more distress to her family.