Sasikala surrenders in Bengaluru, sent to jail

Chennai/Bengaluru, February 15

AIADMK chief V K Sasikala was on Wednesday sent to jail after she surrendered before a trial court at Bengaluru, a day after the Supreme Court restored her conviction in the disproportionate assets case.

Sasikala turned up before special court judge Ashwathnarayana after the Supreme Court earlier in the day rejected her plea for more time to surrender.

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Sasikala was imprisoned after completion of court formalities and medical check-up, officials said.

The judge also turned down her pleas for two weeks more time to surrender and for home food.

Sasikala's relatives V N Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, whose conviction by the trial court in Bengaluru had been upheld by the Supreme Court, also surrendered.

Four cars in the cavalcade of Sasikala were damaged soon after it arrived near the court premises, police said, adding, it was not immediately known who did it.

With the Supreme Court being firm on not giving any more time, Sasikala left Jayalalithaa's Poes Garden residence in Chennai just before noon and headed to Bengaluru after visiting the Jayalalithaa's memorial on Marina Beach.

At the Jayalalithaa memorial, Sasikala paid floral tributes and was seen muttering something which was not audible.

Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her relatives V N Sudhakaran and J Ilavarasi had spent three weeks in Parappana Agrahara jail after they were convicted by the trial court in the Rs 66 crore DA case in September 2014 before they were let out on bail by the Supreme Court.

Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, whose conviction by the trial court in Bengaluru had been upheld by the Supreme Court, also surrendered before the court. The court abated the proceedings against Jayalalithaa on account of her death.

She had on Tuesday given pep talk to MLAs and supporters to stay bold and remain united.

“Only I can be jailed, not the care or concern I have for this party. Wherever I will be, my thoughts will be here,” Sasikala had told both her MLAs at Koovathur resort as well as to her supporters later at Poes Garden on Tuesday night.

She said she would be thinking about the party round the clock and that “no force can wean away” the party from her.

Earlier on Wednesday, the apex court had refused to entertain her plea, seeking more time to surrender to undergo jail term in the Rs 66 crore disproportionate assets case, also involving Jayalalithaa.

“We do not intend to pass any order on this. We are not going to change anything in the judgment,” a bench headed by Justice PC Ghose had said. The Bench had on Tuesday convicted her and two others in the 19-year-old case.

Edappadi K Palaniswami was then elected as the AIADMK Legislature Party leader.

Before leaving the Poes Garden residence of Jayalalithaa, where Sasikala continued to stay after the former’s demise last December, she was greeted by slogan-shouting supporters.

At the Jayalalithaa memorial, Sasikala made her way through the crowd of supporters that included a sobbing former minister Gokula Indira and Deputy General Secretary and her nephew TTV Dinakaran, and put up a brave face.

Later, at the Ramapuram residence of MG Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, she briefly meditated before his portrait.

She also paid homage to a life-size statue of the former matinee idol at the residence, which she had unveiled recently.

Some women there also performed ‘aarti’ for Sasikala. — PTI