Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday recorded her statement before a Special Court here in connection with a disproportionate assets case. She will appear before the court again on Friday.
Ms. Jayalalithaa answered 379 questions posed by the court during the five-and-half-hour-long proceedings. She is expected to answer more questions on Friday. She answered “precisely and to the point,” her counsel B. Kumar told journalists about a kilometre away from Gandhi Bhavan in Parappana Agrahara on the outskirts of Bangalore, where the Special Court is functioning.
According to Mr. Kumar, Ms. Jayalalithaa was not perturbed and remained calm during the proceedings. “She explained in detail wherever required. The questions are not complete, it will continue tomorrow. An equal number of questions or more could be asked,” he said.
The proceedings commenced at 11 a.m. and went on till 2 p.m. They resumed after lunch at 2.45 p.m. By the time Ms. Jayalalithaa came out of the courtroom, it was around 5 p.m., informed sources said adding that a battery of 16 advocates, including Mr. Kumar, represented her.
Four advocates, led by Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) B.V. Acharya, represented the prosecution. Sandesh Chowta, assistant to the SPP, told The Hindu that the 379 questions revolved round the circumstances and were based on evidence given by 92 witnesses against the accused.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Jayalalithaa arrived at the HAL airport in a special aircraft. She reached the court premises by 10.30 a.m. in a convoy of nine vehicles. She was accompanied in an SUV by her close friend Sasikala and the latter's relative Ilavarasi, both of whom are co-accused in the case. V.N. Sudhakaran, another accused, reached the court around 10.50 a.m.
Special Court Judge B.M. Mallikarjunaiah arrived amid tight security.
The area around Gandhi Bhavan literally turned into a fortress with the police forming a security cordon.
A large number of AIADMK workers, including MLAs and MPs, besides a number of Ministers, had descended on Parappana Agrahara.
