Two accused in Kodanad estate break-in case brought to Chennai

Two accused in the Kodanad estate break-in case, who had reportedly linked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami to the incident, were brought here Monday by the city police, a day after they were picked up in Delhi. Palaniswami has already rejected the allegations made against him by those accused, made in a video released by Delhi-based journalist and former Tehelha managing editor Samuel Mathew last week.

The police have filed a case, even as the chief minister assured of "strong action" in this matter. On Monday, two of the accused persons, V K Sayan, and Valayar Manoj, were brought from Delhi by police in a private flight and whisked away for further interrogation. They were reportedly seen making purported remarks linking the chief minister to the April 2017 break-in in the video. On Saturday, referring to Mathew releasing a video in Delhi on January 11, Palaniswami had denied his involvement.

The All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) co-coordinator had said a police case had been filed in the matter and that "strong action" would be taken against those who released the video. He had suspected a "political" motive behind the matter, even as the opposition DMK has demanded that he step down to facilitate a "fair" probe. DMK President MK Stalin had said on Sunday that he plans to meet state Governor Banwarilal Purohit over the issue on Monday.

In April 2017, the security guard of the Kodanad estate, the late Jayalalithaa's retreat home in the hilly district of the Nilgiris, was found dead. It emerged during the probe that Jayalalithaa's former driver C Kanagaraj and Sayan had allegedly plotted the crime. A total of 10 people had been arrested in the case, with a charge sheet also being filed later. However, Kanagaraj and Sayan's wife and daughter were killed in separate road accidents during the probe, even as another employee of the property was found dead, in a case of suspected suicide.

(With inputs from agencies.)