Kodanad heist and murder case: Its time for VK Sasikala to appear for a probe!

For the first time since she has walked out of the prison, expelled ADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala has got her time to appear for the questioning in the ongoing probe into the robbery and murder that happened in the Kodanad estate, in the Nilgiris, that was jointly owned by VK Sasikala and the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. VK Sasikala was the close aide of the late leader and the murder incident has happened in 2017. 

The Nilgiris police have on Wednesday issued a summon to VK Sasikala to appear for the investigation into the heist and murder case. As per the summon, she has to appear for the investigation on Thursday- April 21 during which it has been expected that the officials will hold a fierce questioning with Sasikala as the probe has been carried out intensely by the current government. 

The summon to VK Sasikala has come days after the probing team had interrogated former ADMK MLA Aarukutty for nearly ten hours in connection with the case. According to reports, VK Sasikala will be questioned in Chennai and she will be asked about the items that were robbed from the Kodanad estate. As a close aide of Jayalalithaa, Sasikala was among the few people who had access to the estate and would visit along with Jayalalithaa. 

Kodanad estate is a palatial bungalow owned by Jayalalithaa and she would stay in the estate as a retreat during summer and Sasikala would also accompany her. The estate that stretches for hundreds of acres was the largest bungalow owned by a Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and after Jayalalithaa's demise, the estate had gone deserted as soon after her demise in December 2016, Sasikala too had gone to prison to serve her four-year incarceration. 

While under the rule of Edappadi Palaniswami, Tamil Nadu went aghast to witness a robbery and murder that happened in Kodanad estate on April 23, 2017. A mob had tried to rob the estate and in their operation, the assailants had killed a security guard of the estate. Kanagaraj, who was Jayalalithaa's car driver, was spelt as the prime accused in the case. However, he was later killed in a road accident in Salem. Under the ADMK regime, the case didn't take off as the police didn't arrest major conspirators in the case. 

After DMK came to power, the case was intensified and the police officials are probing the people who are connected with the estate and with the accused. It has been said that the rules of the previous regime had a role in the heist and murder as the mob had robbed prestigious items and several documents that Jayalalithaa had earthed in the estate. The case had taken shocking twists and turns and now, it has come to the level of probing VK Sasikala. 

On April 15, 2022, former ADMK MLA Aarukutty, with whom Kanagaraj had worked as a driver, was investigated. Aarukutty was questioned at the Special Training Centre of the Police in Coimbatore and reacting to the inquiry, the former legislator said, "Kanagaraj worked as my driver. Officials asked me to describe that and I have shared with them all the information I know. Officials had asked me to give all the details I know, and I have told them everything with honesty." 

 

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