In jail or not, Sasikala’s woes far from over, thanks to Central agencies

The latest blow to the expelled AIADMK leader came on Wednesday, when her posh properties at Siruthavur, near Chennai, were attached.
Former AIADMK leader VK Sasikala (File photo | EPS)
Former AIADMK leader VK Sasikala (File photo | EPS)

CHENNAI: Properties of former chief minister J Jayalaithaa’s aide VK Sasikala have been under the scanner of Central investigation agencies ever since she was jailed in connection with a disproportionate assets case. The latest blow to the expelled AIADMK leader came on Wednesday, when her posh properties at Siruthavur, near Chennai, were attached.

Sasikala was jailed in Febraury 2017 after being convicted in the disproportionate assets case, and within a few months, she was under the scrutiny of the Income Tax (I-T) department and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The I-T department started raiding her properties under ‘Operation Clean Money Drive’ for over a month since November 2017. It raided 187 places connected to her, and found undeclared income worth Rs 1,430 crore.

Raids were also conducted on Jaya TV and the family, including her brother VK Divakaran, at a time when Sasikala was slowly losing her grip on the ruling AIADMK. The I-T department said the raids were not politically motivated.

What came as a surprise to many was that the raids on Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence ‘Veda Nilayam’ itself. I-T officials said they only checked the chambers belonging to Sasikala, and found vital clues pertaining to shell companies linked to her, her family, and aides. A laptop, a desktop, pen drives, a tablet, and incriminating electronic documents were found. As per an initial assessment, the electronic devices had all the original documents pertaining to shell companies. The prohibitory order, which is usually issued in premises raided by the I-T department, was withdrawn for Veda Nilayam only in January 2018.

In January 2018, the ED joined the investigation against Sasikala. An economic offences court framed charges against her in connection with a FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulation Act) violation. The case relates to alleged violations in transactions, including remittances for a transponder and uplinking charges for the erstwhile JJ TV channel. It was alleged that the payments were illegally routed to the US-based Rimsat through firms having networks in the Philippines and Singapore.

Following the I-T raids, Sasikala evaded attempts by the department to quiz her in January 2018. While summons were issued to her, they were later postponed as she claimed she was under ‘maun vrat’. It was only in December 2018 that a team of I-T officials from Chennai reached the Bangalore Parappana Agrahara prison to question Sasikala.

Recent raids follow release of audio clips  
When the Assembly polls were announced, Sasikala said she would abstain from politics. But later, she released audio clips of her conversations with AIADMK leaders, making her intention of returning to the AIADMK clear. Now, the moves of the I-T dept suggests she has more troubles to face.

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