CHENNAI: Days after the call for #JusticeforSasikala went viral on Tamil social media spaces, DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday, in a statement, suspended the key accused in the case D Devendran and D Purushothaman from the party and stripped them of all responsibilities, including their basic membership, for acting in a way so as to bring disrepute to the party.
The absconding duo was DMK’s Kancheepuram south district youth wing functionaries from Idaikkazhinadu. They are accused of blackmailing 25-year-old K Sasikala for sexual favours and abetting her suicide. The issue came to light 10 days after Sasikala was found dead at her house in Chengalpattu district when her brother raised doubts over the death and approached the police seeking a re-postmortem of the buried body.
Sasikala, a resident of Guduvanchery, was working in a textile showroom in the locality. On June 24, her mother and brother went for work early in the morning, leaving Sasikala with her disabled father, who was sleeping outside their house. At around 9.30 am, Purushothaman, their relative, visited the house and raised an alarm claiming that Sasikala had killed herself.
Although relatives and neighbours rushed her to the hospital, doctors declared her as brought dead, a police officer said. At the time, the death was believed to be a case of suicide. However, Sasikala’s elder brother, Arun Babu, filed a complaint with the police on June 30 alleging that his sister had been murdered by Purushothaman and his brother Devendran.
Arun Babu has demanded that Sasikala’s body be exhumed and another postmortem examination be conducted. Speaking to Express, Arun said, “Four years ago, Purushothaman and his brother video-taped Sasikala in an inappropriate way and they had been blackmailing her to offer sexual favours.” According to Arun, the duo was upset to learn that Sasikala’s marriage had recently been fixed. “Angered by this, they murdered her,” he alleged.