The Kodanad estate was the scene of a sensational crime on April 23, 2017, when a group of men allegedly broke in, murdered a security guard, and fled with valuables
In the case of the 2017 heist-murder at Kodanad estate, once the summer retreat of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the Madras High Court on Friday allowed the accused to summon former AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala and the party’s current general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami as defence witnesses.
Justice P Velmurugan delivered the judgment, allowing the revision petition filed by the accused, D Deepu, M S Satheesan, and A Santhosh Sami, against an earlier sessions court ruling that had restricted their plea.
The Kodanad estate was the scene of a sensational crime on April 23, 2017, when a group of men allegedly broke in, murdered a security guard, and fled with valuables. The case has been mired in controversy, with allegations of a politically influenced investigation during the AIADMK’s tenure as the ruling party in Tamil Nadu.
Justice Velmurugan questioned the rationale of the 2021 sessions court order that had declined to summon Palaniswami, the then chief minister, citing potential misuse of the judicial process.
The petitioners argued that examination of key individuals, including Palaniswami and Sasikala, was crucial to uncovering the truth.
Justice Velmurugan asked during the hearings that since he is not the chief minister anymore, “Why can’t EPS be examined as a witness in the Kodanad case?”
The accused also sought to summon Sasikala, a close aide of the late Jayalalithaa. Sasikala’s relatives V N Sudhakaran and J Elavarasi, along with other individuals linked to the estate’s management and security, including former Nilgiris Collector P Shankar and Superintendent of Police Murali Rambha, were also among those the accused wanted to summon.
Mystery has surrounded the case following the deaths of several individuals connected to it, including C Kanagaraj, Jayalalithaa’s former driver and the alleged mastermind of the heist. He had died in a road accident days after the heist. Similarly, the wife and daughter of another accused, K V Sayan, died in a separate accident, deepening suspicions of foul play. A computer operator at the estate, Dinesh Kumar, was also found dead at his house in Kotagiri.
A chargesheet in the case from September 2017 said a gang of 11 people hatched the conspiracy to rob the house. According to the chargesheet the armed gang, allegedly led by Kanagaraj, entered the estate and tied up Krishna Thapa, a security guard. While two accused guarded Thapa, others went to another gate where they attacked and killed Om Bahadur, another security guard.
In January 2019, the case made national headlines again when the accused organised a press meet at Delhi Press Club, alleging that the heist was executed by Kanagaraj. Sayan claimed that Kanagaraj had told him that the heist was executed at the behest of the then CM Palaniswami to loot cash bundles and land documents worth crores of rupees. But the police had said that only two wristwatches and a crystal doll went missing after the heist.
An SIT probe into the case is underway.
