Chennai, September 8 (BPNS)
A team of police officers from Niligirs have left for Kerala to issue summons to suspects and witnesses in the Kodanad estate murder and heist case. The team left for Kerala on Tuesday and is conducting investigation in that state as some of the accused who are on bail are in Kerala.
Senior police officers including IG West Zone, R Sudhakar, DIG Muthuswamny, and Nilgiris Superintendent of Police, Ashish Rawat has revived the progress of the case and then the team was sent to Kerala.
The prosecution case was that a group of people barged into the Kodanad summer estate on April 24, 2017, and murdered a watchman Om Bahadhur and injured another watchman, Krishna Bahadhur. The robbers stole 5 watches and a crystal idol from the estate bungalow.
However the DMK government which had come to power in 2021 has reopened the case which has high political overtures as the estate was owned jointly by the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, J. Jayalalithaa, and her close aide V.K.Sasikala. The AIADMK strongly suspects that the move of the government is to implicate former Chief Minister and senior leader of the party, Edappadi. K. Palaniswami in the case.
It is to be noted that the ten accused in the case were arrested and now are on bail except the drive of the Late Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, Kanagaraj who died in a road accident. Police officers in Nilgiris told BPNS that many of the suspects are from Kerala.When asked about the details of these suspects, police remained tight-lipped.
Meanwhile Supreme Court of India on Tuesday allowed the Tamil Nadu police to conduct reinvestigation in the Kodanad murder and heist case. The Supreme court refused to entertain a plea seeking a stay on further investigation. The court said, “We cannot interfere in the investigation of the Tamil Nadu police and let the truth come out ultimately.”
The plea which was filed by the prosecution witness and AIADMK member, Anubhav Ravi said that he was being threatened by the Tamil Nadu police to depose a favourable witness statement. In the plea, Ravi asked the court as to why the case is being reinvestigated after a charge sheet has already been submitted and he has been examined.
This is seen as a major blow to the AIADMK and the former Chief Minister, Edappady K. Palniswami has alleged that the DMK government under Stalin was trying to implicate him in the case.
The Special investigation team is also likely to investigate the road accident that took place on 29 April 2017 at Kannadi in Palakkad district of Kerala, in which the main accused K.P.Sayan’s family including his wife and son died and he had escaped with injuries.
The Kodanad murder and heist case is turning into a major political confabulation between the DMK and AIADMK with the Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin speaking in the assembly that the DMK and the government are not acting with a vengeance or vendetta. He said that the truth has to come out and the DMK had promised the people of Tamil Nadu that a proper investigation would be carried out in the Kodanad murder and heist case once it comes back to power.
Interestingly the case will have its ramifications in the AIADMK also as there is a possibility of the section close of former Chief Minister, O.Panneerselvam trying to take over the party if something negative comes out against Edappadi K Palaniswami in the investigation.
