Three Accused Of Kodanad Heist-Murder Case Move Madras HC Seeking Permission To Examine EPS and Sasikala

The petition by the accused urged Madras HC to set aside the lower court order and permit them to examine the mentioned people including political leaders. 

Chennai: Three accused in Kodanad Heist and Murder case moved the Madras High Court seeking to permission to quizz former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and former AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala along with her relatives J Ilavarasi and VN Sudhakaran. In a petition, the accused urged the Madras High Court to set aside a previous lower court order in connection with a similar petition moved by the accused earlier. 

According to reports, three accused--Deepu, MS Satheesan and A Santhosh Samy-- moved a Criminal Review Petition in Madras HC stating that they filed a petition before a local court in The Nilgiris to permit then to examine Edappadi Palaniswami, Sasikala, Elavarasi, Sudhakaran, SP, a local AIADMK functionary, the then district Collector and estate manager. However, the Court permitted the accused only to question the manager. Hence, they urged Madras HC to set aside the lower court order and permit them to examine the mentioned people including political leaders. 

The Kodanad Heist and Murder case started with a break-in at Tamil Nadu former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's bunglow in Kodanad on April 24 2017. During the heist, a 10-member group murdered the security guard of the estate Om Bahadur and severely injured another guard. The initial news reports said that the group decamped with mobile phones, five watches and a crystal showpiece. However, the accused reportedly broke into the rooms used by Jayalalithaa and Sasikala and there is no clarity yet on the matters stolen from the rooms.

Three days after the incident, the Kodanad police zeroed in on Sayan, a man from Kerala and seven other members. The police started the lookout for prime accused Kanagaraj and Sayan. However, during the same time Kanagaraj was killed in a car accident and Sayan's car met with an accident. In the mishap, Sayan's wife and daughter died but Sayan escaped with injuries. However, former Tehelka Editor Mathew Samuel released a report in 2019 alleging that Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami had a role in the heist and the chain of deaths. However, the then Chief Minister Palaniswami denied the charges and said that they were politically motivated. 

Yet, DMK’s one of the poll promise was to bring out the truth in Kodanad heist and murder case.