COIMBATORE: The special police team investigating the robbery and murder in Kodanad estate of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday questioned former Koundampalayam AIADMK MLA VC Arukutty. Inspector General (West Zone) R Sudhakar was present during the interrogation which lasted for more than three hours at the Police Recruit School.
C Kanagaraj, a native of Edappadi in Salem was one of the prime suspects in the case. He worked as a car driver for Arukutty after he was allegedly sacked from the job by Jayalalithaa. He died in a road accident soon after the heist.
After the inquiry, Arukutty told media persons, “I was called for questioning because Kanagaraj worked for me as driver for around 1.5 years. He did not speak with me after leaving the job. I told police all that I know about him. The investigation is being conducted in a fair manner.”
On April 23, 2017, the security guard of the Kodanad estate was murdered by a gang in an alleged robbery bid. It emerged during the probe that Jayalalithaa’s former car driver C Kanagaraj and Sayan allegedly plotted the crime. Kanagaraj died in a road accident at Santhanagiri junction in Salem on April 28, 2017.
In 2021, police began further investigation into the case and in October arrested Kanagaraj’s brother Dhanapal and their relative Ramesh from Salem, for allegedly destroying the evidence related to the case.