Kodanad Heist and Murder: Investigation reaches Sasikala's doors

The mystery continues to shroud the sensational murder and robbery at the Kodanad estate in the Nilgiris in 2017 which was followed by the equally puzzling and murkier death of the prime accused, a former car driver of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, and another one. Two of the accused have alleged that former CM Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) had ordered the break-in. Owned by Jayalalithaa and the family members of her confidante VK Sasikala, the sprawling 900-acre estate and the palatial bungalow in the cool environs of the Western Ghats, was a summer retreat and on occasions the camp office of Jayalalithaa as the CM. Investigation into the case which picked up momentum after the return of DMK to power has now reached the doorsteps of Sasikala. Quizzed by a special team of police at her residence in Chennai, she will be interrogated tomorrow as well. Writes ETV Bharat's, MC Rajan.

Chennai: Five years after the daring break-in and gruesome murder at the Kodanad estate, which made headlines across the country, one of the owners of the property, VK Sasikala, was questioned by the Special Investigating Team (SIT), giving fresh momentum to the ongoing probe. It was a marathon interrogation from morning till evening which is to be continued on Friday as well.

That the heist took place on the night of April 23, 2017, within a couple of months of her incarceration at a Bengaluru prison in the wealth case and when EPS was Chief Minister, has only added to the intrigue. For, the palatial mansion, a fortress in the hills, was also a seat of power till Jayalalithaa passed away in December 2016. Hence, suspicions were raised when the chargesheet filed by the police said that the 11-member gang had decamped with 10 wristwatches and a crystal doll. On her part, Sasikala too kept a studied silence on the burglary.

The armed gang was led by C Kanagaraj, a former driver of Jayalalithaa, who also hailed from Edappadi, the native village of EPS. According to the chargesheet, he had hatched the conspiracy to lay hands on the crores of cash stashed at the bungalow. But for him, all others in the gang were from Kerala. On reaching the estate on a fateful day, they tied Krishna Thapa, one of the guards at the gate. Another guard at another gate, Om Bhadur was murdered. Significantly, all the CCTV cameras at the mansion were switched off.

It was the subsequent death of Kanagaraj and others in a span of four months and the laxity in the investigation that puzzled everyone. Within five days of the heist, Kanagaraj, the prime accused, was killed in a road accident near Attur. On the same day, Sayana, the second accused, who was driving a car met with an accident near Palakkad, in which he survived with minor injuries while his wife and daughter were killed. Later, in July that year, Dinesh Kumar, the computer operator at the bungalow, had died of suicide.

The 300-page chargesheet filed in September that year said that Kanagaraj and Sayan were friends and the duo hatched the conspiracy at a bakery in Coimbatore and enlisted the others – Manoj, Deepu, Jamsher Ali, Satheesan, Bijin, Udhartan, Santhosh Sami, Manoj PC, and Jithin Joy. Interestingly, major lapses in the probe came to light during the deposition of the investigating officer, Balasundaram. Neither photos nor videos of the crime scene were taken nor an inventory of the valuables was taken. Further, Krishna Thapa had left for good and the cops are clueless about this.

As the trial at the sessions court in Nilgiris was nearing completion, the case took a different turn when three of the accused approached with a plea to interrogate EPS and Sasikala besides the then-District Collector. Then came another twist. In an interview with journalist Mathew Samuel, both Sayana and Manoj alleged that it was EPS who ordered the burglary. The DMK, then in the opposition, demanded the resignation of EPS as CM. Denying this, EPS had filed an Rs one crore defamation suit. He had also alleged that the DMK was using it as a handle to tarnish his image.

After the change of government, the police moved the trial court to carry out further investigation, which had turned the heat on the AIADMK leadership. Attempts by a prosecution witness, 'Anubahv' Ravi, an AIADMK functionary to scuttle the fresh probe, were dismissed by Madras High Court.

Earlier, the SIT had questioned Kodanad estate manager Natarajan and Sasikala's nephew, Vivek Jayaraman in connection with the heist. On the interrogation, Sasikala had said that she would speak after completion of the questioning on Friday. With every twist and turn in the case adding up to the mystery, the investigation picking up pace had created unease among the AIADMK leadership. For, who next is the big question.