Why murder in Jayalalithaa’s Kodanadu estate has turn into a political row once again

It was on April 24, 2017 that Om Bahadur, a watchman who worked at former Main Minister J Jayalalithaa’s sprawling estate in Kodanad was identified murdered by a gang of robbers. Four decades afterwards, this murder and two subsequent incidents in which a single of the principal accused in the robbery was killed, the problem has at the time once again taken centre phase in Tamil Nadu. The state’s Assembly witnessed heated arguments and a walkout by the AIADMK on August 18 alleging that the DMK was seeking to implicate them falsely for the theft and murders.

The walk-out follows the issuing of fresh new summons issued by the Nilgiris police to a male named Sayan who is ‘accused no 2’ in the case. Quoting West zone IG R Sudhakar, TNIE noted that permission had been sought past 7 days from a trial courtroom to perform additional investigations. The case is envisioned to occur up on August 27 and the AIADMK now appears to be wary that a several leaders which includes Edappadi Palanisamy (EPS) may well be ‘falsely’ implicated. 

The former chief minister and AIADMK get together chief EPS staged a walkout disrupting the assembly proceedings today when the scenario came up for dialogue. EPS, former deputy chief minister OPS and party cadres also protested exterior the legislative assembly developing. Addressing the media, EPS alleged that Sayan experienced been summoned and a top secret statement taken from him by the law enforcement. He even more alleged that his identify and all those of other AIADMK leaders had been added in the top secret statement, introducing that the investigation experienced been nearing closure ahead of this and that scenario was intended to arrive up ahead of the court on the 28th of this month. He cited information media sources for these allegations. He also reported that any developments at this point were a focused assault by the DMK govt formed below the management of MK Stalin. 

The resource of these allegations by EPS is unclear as there does not appear to be any reports relating to a assertion, magic formula or usually, from Sayan or that the names of EPS or any in the AIADMK management have been added. In April 2017, Sayan who hails from Kerala was recognized as the chief of the gang that broke-in and murdered the guard, even so, even as the police were seeking for him, Sayan’s automobile achieved with an incident and his daughter and wife died.The to start with accused in the scenario, Jayalalithaa’s previous driver named Kanakaraj was also mysteriously killed in a equivalent accident.

In 2019, Samuel Matthew, a former editor at Tehelka, had produced a limited documentary accusing EPS of obtaining contracted the theft. At the time the AIADMK had been in energy. The allegations in the documentary rocked Tamil Nadu. Stalin, then the Opposition  chief, met with the Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, demanding the President of India be produced conscious of the problem. Addressing the media soon after assembly the governor, Stalin experienced also demanded that EPS step down as CM to make way for a honest trial. No even further actions had been taken adhering to these functions.

Responding to the stroll-out by EPS and AIADMK cadres, Main Minister MK Stalin mentioned in the assembly that they have been only subsequent via on their election promise to get to the bottom of the secret surrounding the Kodanad case and that none of this was politically inspired. “The robbery and murder that took location that midnight, the murders and accidental deaths in the adhering to times designed a fantastic deal of suspicion in the community-head. That was why we promised that the case would be adequately investigated and the true culprits brought to justice,” he stated. Stalin also said that the situation was proceeding with permission from the court docket, that only individuals who are discovered to be responsible will encounter punishment and that there is no purpose for anybody else to be fearful.