CHENNAI: Exactly a year after he was expelled from the AIADMK (July 11), deposed leader O Panneerselvam and his associate R Vaithilingam on Tuesday revived the debate on Kodanadu heist and murder case. They said demonstrations will be staged “on behalf of the AIADMK” in all districts on August 1 urging the government to expedite investigation in the case and punish the culprits.
“Chief Minister MK Stalin, when he was leader of the opposition, had promised to bring to book those involved in the case within 90 days of assuming office. But, even after being in office for over two years, ‘the mystery knot’ in the case has not been untied,” Vaithilingam told a press conference in the presence of Panneerselvam.
Asked about the suspects in the case, Vaithilingam said, “We don’t know. Be it X, Y or Z, the culprits have to be punished.” On whether they suspect the hand of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami in the incident, Panneerselvan said, “That is duty of the police to find out.”
When reporters pointed out that Panneerselvam was deputy chief minister when the heist took place and that he could have raised the issue back then, OPS said he had no powers at that time. Reacting to Pannerselvam and his associates, AIADMK organising secretary D Jayakumar gave a detailed account of how the AIADMK government investigated the case and arrested the accused. The change of guard in the state took place when the court was about to give its verdict, he said.
“The DMK government has reopened the investigation with an objective to malign the AIADMK. To ensure a fair investigation, Palaniswami has demanded that CBI probe the case. Now, to strengthen the efforts of the DMK government, the OPS camp has taken up this issue. This shows Panneerselvam is a B team of the DMK,” Jayakumar said.
Police ask for forensic examination of phones
Coimbatore: Prosecution has sought forensic analysis of mobile phones seized from suspect in the Kodanad heist cum murder case. A petition in this regard was submitted before the Nilgiris district sessions judge Abdul Khader on Tuesday.