E-Paper
2 suspected of killing guard at Jaya’s estate meet with accidents same night
S Kanagaraj, formerly employed as Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s driver, was killed in an accident at Attur. Police believed he was the mastermind of the attempted robbery because he was familiar with the layout and topography of the estate.
The mystery surrounding the midnight break-in at a Kodanad estate owned by late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa turned murkier after two suspects in the case fell prey to alleged road accidents on Friday night.
The first incident involved Jayalalithaa’s former driver S Kanagaraj, a prime suspect in the robbery attempt, whose two-wheeler was hit by a speeding vehicle in Attur. The 36-year-old man was killed, police said, adding that the incident would be probed from all angles.
A few hours later, a car carrying another suspect – Sayan – was hit by a sand lorry while he was returning from Kerala with his family. While his wife and child died in the incident, the suspect was admitted to a Coimbatore hospital in a critical condition.
Incidentally, the car carrying Sayan was identified as the stolen vehicle that the gang had used in the Kodanad estate break-in.
A security guard was killed and another injured in the Kodanad incident, which occurred early on Monday morning. Police believed Kanagaraj was the mastermind of the attempted robbery because he was familiar with the layout and topography of the estate. The suspect had driven the former chief minister to the property on several occasions, and spent time there as well.
Jayalalithaa had sacked Kanagaraj in 2012, after she found him “misusing” her name for personal gain.
The driver’s death has sent the Tamil Nadu police in a tizzy. They had earlier detained four people in connection with the break-in, and issued a lookout notice for Kanagaraj.
The estate, spread over 900 acres in the Nilgiris, was a retreat often used by Jayalalithaa for rest and treatment.
