The four-year-old heist cum murder case at late chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad Estate has come back to haunt Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition AIADMK.
The AIADMK on Wednesday decided to boycott the ongoing assembly for the next two days after the DMK furthered investigations with police quizzing the prime accused, Sayan in the case. After AIADMK legislators walked out alleging political vendetta for not being allowed to raise the issue in the House, former chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami told reporters that the DMK was trying to frame him and a few other party functionaries in the case.
Soon after the demise of J Jayalalithaa in December 2016, ten people were accused of breaking into and murdering a security guard of the Kodanad estate in the Nilgiris hills which was Jayalalithaa’s summer retreat. Since Jayalalithaa’s death led to a battle over assets and legacy, the crime at this bungalow has remained in the spotlight if there is a political motivation. Palaniswami said that while his regime had undertaken a probe and the case in the Madras high court was coming to a close with a hearing on August 27, the DMK government deliberately schemed to probe Sayan. “Media reports say that a secret statement was taken from Sayan,” Palaniswami said. “In that report, my name and other functionaries’ names have been added. The Stalin-led DMK government is doing this purposefully to foist cases on AIADMK leaders and instil fear for political mileage. But this will not happen.” Palaniswami also questioned why the lawyers associated with the DMK appeared on behalf of the accused in the case. “DMK leaders applied for bail for the accused. What is the connection?” he asked.
Responding to charges by the AIADMK and its allies PMK and BJP, Stalin responded in the assembly that the investigation was taking place with permission from the court. “This is not a political vendetta,” Stalin said. “The DMK promised in its election manifesto to send the real culprits to jail. We will ensure that justice is served in the case. No one needs to fear.”
{{/usCountry}}Responding to charges by the AIADMK and its allies PMK and BJP, Stalin responded in the assembly that the investigation was taking place with permission from the court. “This is not a political vendetta,” Stalin said. “The DMK promised in its election manifesto to send the real culprits to jail. We will ensure that justice is served in the case. No one needs to fear.”
{{/usCountry}}The sprawling bungalow at Kodanad was what Jayalalithaa had bought along with her close aide V K Sasikala in the 1990s. In the early stages of the investigation, the police had then alleged that a former driver of Jayalalithaa’s C Kanagaraj plotted the crime with Sayan.
Subsequently, Kanagaraj, Sayan’s wife and their daughter died in separate road accidents. An independent investigation conducted by the former managing editor of Tehelka, Mathew Samuel alleged that Palaniswami was behind the break-in. But Palaniswami, who took over following Jayalalithaa’s death defended that vested interests were trying to defame him.