THOUGH it promised there would be no witch hunt, the DMK is sparing no corrupt member of the erstwhile AIADMK government. Topping the hit list is AIADMK supremo and former chief minister J. Jayalalitha. The state police has already begun the process of moving the courts to recover properties allegedly amassed by her.
As a first step, the chief judge of the Small Causes Court ordered the attachment of land illegally bought by Jaya Publications, a company jointly owned by Jayalalitha and her friend, Sasikala Natarajan. The petition in regard to this property was filed by the crime branch of the CID and it meticulously establishes the misuse of official machinery in buying government property.
According to the agency, it has clinching evidence to establish criminal conduct of the former chief minister in at least six cases, including the 'Chandrika acid assault case' and the advocate Vijayan and advocate Shanmughasundaram assault cases. Official sources say once the documentation is through, the state government will not hesitate to arrest Jayalalitha.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate summoned her foster son, V. Sudhakaran, in the JJ TV FERA violation case. The Directorate has also issued a notice that if he fails to appear, it will be constrained to move the courts to issue an arrest warrant against him. The heat being turned on Sudhakaran comes close on the heels of the arrest of Sasikala, who had resisted as many as five summons from the Directorate.
A Jayalalitha aide and member of her cabinet, Indirakumari, was arrested last week by the CB CID in connection with the multi-crore sari scam. When questioned about her role in the scam, Indirakumari maintained that whatever she did had the blessing of the then chief minister. With Indirakumari's arrest, the number of persons close to Jayalalitha who have been rounded up has risen to 10.
The list of the heads that have rolled is a veritable who's who—all close aides of the former chief minister. Among those currently in jail are: Sasikala, her husband M. Natarajan, her nephew T.T.V.Dinakaran, former revenue minister S.D. Somasundaram, AIADMK south Madras secretary R. Madhavan, senior IAS officer Dyaneswaran and ex-handloom and social welfare minister Indirakumari. Jayalalitha's foster son Sudhakaran and his brother T.T.V. Bhaskaran are also expected to be arrested in the next few days.
The Enforcement Directorate has already conducted raids on the houses of many former AIADMK ministers. This has unearthed money to the tune of Rs 25 crore. Former ministers K.P. Krishnan, K.A. Sengottaiyan, S. Muthuswamy and E. Madhusudanan may well be behind bars soon.
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