NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, APRIL 20
Former aide of late Tamili Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, ‘Chinnamma’ V K Sasikala, will be grilled by the police for the first time in the sensational Kodanad heist cum murder case, on Thursday.
“We have received the police summons. The questioning will be at her T Nagar residence (in Chennai) on Thursday around 10.30 am,” said an associate of Sasikala on the condition of anonymity.
A team led by west zone inspector general Sudhakar will conduct the enquiries.
Last week, the special investigation team probing the case interrogated All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) ex-MLA V C Arukutty and the party’s Amma Peravai functionary ‘Anubhav’ Ravi in Coimbatore.
The Kodanad tea estate in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district was late chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s summer retreat and sometimes she even functioned from here while in office.
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The land spread across more than 900 acre was jointly purchased by Jayalalithaa and her close confidante Sasikala and her family members in the 1990s with varying shares. Jayalalithaa died in a Chennai hospital in December 2016. Given their relationship, reports say that Sasikala is likely to be questioned on her role in the Kodanad estate and information about the assets in the property. Last December, Sasikala’s nephew Vivek Jayaraman was also questioned in the case.
On the night of April 23, 2017, a group of 10 men hacked to death Om Bahadur, a security guard at Kodanad estate in Tamil Nadu. They broke into the bungalow and allegedly looted the place. After police made arrests in the case, the trial began In October 2019 in the Nilgiris (district) sessions court. The case has been shrouded in mystery as a week after the break-in, on April 28, two of the main accused met with separate road accidents. C Kanagaraj, who was once Jayalalithaa’s driver died on the spot near Salem. K V Sayan escaped with serious injuries but his wife and daughter died on the spot while they were on their way to Kerala. Police said that the burglars had broken into the rooms that had been used by both Jayalalithaa and Sasikala
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which was in the opposition when the crime happened, had then sought the resignation of Edappadi Palaniswami who took over as chief minister following Jayalalithaa’s death. After the DMK formed the government in May, the police furthered investigations into the case. Nilgiris police summoned key accused Sayan to verify fresh information and questioned him on August 16. Sayan had earlier linked Palaniswami to the crime but the latter alleged that the DMK schemed to take a ‘secret statement’ from Sayan to frame him.
