No Political Interference In Kodanad Murder Case: Stalin

The 2017 murder and robbery in Kodanad Tea Estate belonging to late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and the alleged interference in the investigation triggered the AIADMK to walk out of the Assembly on Wednesday.

The AIADMK members also held a protest and were evicted. Later the AIADMK announced their decision to boycott the House for two days. On his part Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said there is no political interference or vendetta in the Kodanad Tea Estate murder case.

Stalin said the culprits will be punished in the murder case and the investigation will be properly done. The AIADMK members raised the issue of the government reinvestigating the case and inquiring an accused who had deposed before the Ooty Sessions Court stating he had nothing to depose.

While Speaker M. Appavu refused the AIADMK members to speak, the latter accused the DMK government of foisting false cases on the opposition and walked out of the House. They also staged a protest near the Assembly hall. Making a statement Stalin said, the government is acting as per the court orders and as per the promise made earlier to bring out the truth in the Kodanad murder case.
According to the Leader of the Opposition and AIADMK Joint Coordinator K. Palaniswami, when the case was expected to be heard on Aug 27 and has reached its end, the DMK government is trying to include him and other party officials in the case.

Palaniswami alleged the government is trying to forcibly get a statement from the prime accused Sayan to include him in the case. Jayalalithaa and her close aide V.K. Sasikala used to stay at the Kodanad estate while on vacation. On April 24, 2017, there was a break-in the Kodanad estate nearly four months after Jayalalithaa's death. The security guard Om Bahadur was found murdered in the estate and another guard was injured in the attack by a ten member gang, the police had then said.(IANS/TI)