Tamil Nadu police to question Sasikala in Kodanad heist-murder case on Thursday

As the police are tightening the sensational Kodanad heist cum murder case, V K Sasikala, former aide of late Tamili Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, will be questioned for the first time on Thursday.

Last week, the special investigation team probing the case interrogated All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) MLA V C Arukutty and the party's Amma Peravai functionary 'Anubhav' Ravi in Coimbatore.

The Kodanad tea estate in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district was late chief minister J Jayalalithaa's summer retreat and sometimes she even functioned from here while in office.

The land spread across more than 900 acre was jointly purchased by Jayalalithaa and her close confidante Sasikala and her family members in the 1990s with varying shares. Jayalalithaa died in a Chennai hospital in December 2016.

Given their relationship, reports say that Sasikala is likely to be questioned on her role in the Kodanad estate and information about the assets in the property. Last December, Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman was also questioned in the case.

On the night of April 23, 2017, a group of 10 men hacked to death Om Bahadur, a security guard at Kodanad estate in Tamil Nadu. They broke into the bungalow and allegedly looted the place. After police made arrests in the case, the trial began In October 2019 in the Nilgiris (district) sessions court.

The case has been shrouded in mystery as a week after the break-in, on April 28, two of the main accused met with separate road accidents. C Kanagaraj, who was once Jayalalithaa's driver died on the spot near Salem. K V Sayan escaped with serious injuries but his wife and daughter died on the spot while they were on their way to Kerala. Police said that the burglars had broken into the rooms that had been used by both Jayalalithaa and Sasikala