The hunt for Durai Dayanidhi, son of Union Minister M K Alagiri is turning into a thriller full of family intrigue, political skulduggery and a desperate police. Durai, an accused in an illegal granite mining case has been on the run from the police since September 25 after the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail. Cops are watching guest houses, hotels and buildings owned by DMK functionaries to nab Durai in case he seeks shelter. Lookout notices have been sent to all international airports in case the fugitive plans to flee the country. To make matters worse, Durai’s wife Anusha has come under the police scanner. “We couldn’t get any proper details even after we inquired with his wife Anusha. Though we asked her around 150 questions, she didn’t give proper reply to any of them. Instead Anusha told us that she hasn’t met her husband for more than a month,” said the police source.
Durai's plight has landed Alagiri in a dilemma. His father, M Karunanidhi and Alagiri’s wife, Kanti are pulling the chariot in opposite directions. The patriarch has reportedly expressed displeasure over Durai evading arrest. Kanti feels that if he surrenders it will bring disrepute to the Alagiri family.
Last week , the court adjourned the secondary anticipatory bail petition of Durai to October 15.
The cops haven’t spared even the Alagiri family doctor from inquiry. During the inquiry, the Alagiri family doctor told the police that he was unable to reach Durai either personally or through phone or email for the last two months. Meanwhile, the special investigation team has collected the details of 10 close friends of Durai through Facebook. All of them have worked for Cloud Nine Movies, the Tamil production house owned by Durai, said the police source. They have also been issued summons, calling them for inquiries. The police also called Alagiri’s close aide former deputy mayor of Madurai Corporation P M Mannan to aid investigations.
Police teams are camping in Bengaluru, Chennai, Tiruppur, Salem and Kodaikkanal in search of Durai. After receiving a major tip off that Durai often visits a Ayurvedic Therapy centre in Kerala, a team is camping in Kerala. The cops are also keeping a close watch on the movements of Durai’s close friends and loyalists in the DMK in Madurai.
The police are yet to get close to his father’s house in Madurai. Meanwhile, they have written to the registration department to provide the details of the properties of the persons involved in the illegal granite quarrying case including Durai. Explaining Durai' property details, a senior police officer claimed that he owns 1,730 acres of land (the Dhaya cyber multi storied building at Maatuthavani and the Cloud Nine Movie office) worth around `3, 000 crore.
“We have sent a letter to the government seeking permission to seize the proprieties. If we get the nod, we will get the warrant from the court to attach them,” said V Balakrishnan, the Superintendent of Police, Madurai Rural. Sources say Durai's last move will be to seek anticipatory bail from the Supreme Court.