Chennai: Rattled at the ghost of the sensational 2017 Kodanad heist cum murder at Jayalalithaa's palatial summer resort at Ooty returning to haunt AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, he approached the Madras High Court and secured temporary relief. Justice RN Manjula restrained Tamil Nadu Sports Minister and DMK Youth Wing Secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin for a fortnight from making derogatory statements against EPS.
It was Udhayanidhi's statement, released shortly after his September 2 remark on eradicating Sanatana Dharma, ridiculing the AIADMK and imputing that EPS was involved in the Kodanad heist and murder besides facing a corruption case that prompted the latter to file a libel suit. The sensational Kodanad heist took place soon after EPS assumed office as the Chief Minister.
Hearing the petition for damages of Rs 1.1 crore, the judge granted the interim injunction for a period of two weeks. “Plaintiff (EPS) and defendant (Udhayanidhi) are political figures and they used to make statements against each other in their political life. While something is made in that course, affecting the integrity of the person, a suit can be filed for damages. This appears to be one such suit,” the judge observed and ordered issuance of notice to the minister.
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Appearing for EPS, senior counsel Vijay Narayan submitted that EPS was neither named in the FIRs pertaining to the Kodanad case nor was summoned by the agency entrusted with the investigation into the crime. Udhayanidhi, who is also the son of the Chief Minister, had been making patently defamatory charges, damaging the reputation of his client, he further submitted. Arguing that no corruption case is pending against EPS, he said even the complaint of corruption by DMK leader RS Bharathi on Highway Tenders during the previous AIADMK government has not yet reached the stage of filing an FIR.
EPS has also filed another libel suit against C Dhanapal, brother of Kanagaraj, former driver of Jayalalithaa, and the deceased prime suspect in the Kodanad case, for linking him to the crime. Dhanapal had recently appeared before the CB-CID police, entrusted with investigating the case afresh, at Coimbatore. Alleging that five bags of documents were stolen from Kodanad bungalow by his brother and Sayan, another accused, he had demanded that for the truth to come out, both EPS and his trusted loyalist Elangovan should be investigated.
The Kodanad case, which still remains a mystery, pertains to the daring robbery and murder of the security guard on the night of April 24, 2017, at the summer retreat of Jayalalithaa at her sprawling 900-acre estate in Ooty. Of the 11 accused, 10 were arrested. Though the property was inherited by VK Sasikala after the demise of Jayalalithaa, she was never questioned. Without preparing a mahazar of missing articles and valuables, the FIR said the accused had stolen a crystal rhinoceros figurine and five watches. The sole eyewitness to the burglary, Kishan Bahadur, a security guard, was allowed to go to Nepal. One of the key accused, KV Sayan, survived a car accident but lost his wife and daughter. Kanagaraj also died in a road accident. In 2022, the case was transferred to the CB-CID.
