DMK president M.K. Stalin on Monday met Governor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan and urged him to order a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the murder and robbery at former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad estate bungalow in 2017.
He also wanted the subsequent deaths of key accused Kanakaraj and the wife and daughter of co-accused Sayan — all of whom were killed in road accidents — and the suicide of the bungalow’s CCTV operator to be investigated.
Mr. Stalin’s demand comes against the backdrop of claims made by former Tehelka journalist Mathew Samuel and two co-accused in the heist case, linking Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to the incident.
“Unless a Special Investigation Team is constituted with an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police with absolute integrity, the truth behind the grave offences committed at the residence of the former Chief Minister, alleged to have been committed at the instance of the current Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, will never come to light,” Mr. Stalin said in a memorandum to the Governor.
Mr. Stalin said further investigation was required not only to punish the real culprits but also to uphold the honour of the high constitutional office of the Chief Minister and to establish the rule of law.
Requesting the Governor to place all the facts before the President to facilitate necessary Constitutional measures, Mr. Stalin urged Mr. Purohit to direct Mr. Palaniswami to demit office to pave the way for a fair and impartial investigation into the matter.
He contended that the arrests of Sayan alias Syam and Valayar Manoj — the heist accused who made the allegations against the CM — on a complaint from an AIADMK functionary was illegal.
“The police have arrested these persons for allegedly making false statements instead of further investigating the case of murder and robbery at the Kodanad estate. These people were arrested to suppress the evidence and [this was] a clear attempt to cover up the crime,” he alleged.
Mr. Stalin said whether the statement of Sayan inspired confidence or not had to be determined only during the trial, but it certainly provided materials for further investigation under Section 173 (8) of the CrPC.
Asked about Mr. Palaniswami’s claim that there was a political motive behind the allegation, Mr. Stalin said, “As far as we know, it is Mr. Palaniswami who is behind everything. I do not think that somebody [else] is behind the issue.”
Legal steps
Responding to another argument of Mr. Palaniswami that Sayan and Manoj had not dragged his name into the incident when the case came up for hearing 22 times at the sessions court in Nilgiris, and that they had done that now at the instigation of someone, Mr. Stalin said they had clearly disclosed everything in an interview.
The DMK leader said the Governor had promised to take action, adding that if he fails to act, the DMK MPs would make a representation to the President. “The DMK is ready to take legal steps,” he said.
