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STATES: TAMIL NADU
Sasikala Still The Hot Favourite
There
have also been gossip that the relationship between Jayalalitha and Sasikala
was showing signs of strain. But insiders confide their friendship is
intact and Sasikala will stand by Jayalalitha rather than side with her
nephew. There are many reasons for this. If the story about the money
taken by Sudhakaran is true, Sasikala may not want him to enjoy the booty
alone without sharing it with the family.
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Jaya's
Hit List
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# M. Karunanidhi and
M.K. Stalin
Former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and Mayor of Chennai
The DMK president and his son are Jayalalitha's
prime targets. She has threatened to revive cases based on the over
two-decade-old Sarkaria Commission report which probed corruption
charges against Karunanidhi. Charges of corruption and criminal
intimidation against Stalin also being pursued.
# Parasuraman
Former MP, DMK
Accused of extortion. Government is actively
pursuing a case in which a contractor has complained that he was
kidnapped and Rs 45 lakh had been demanded for his release.
# B. Renganathan
MLA, TMC Democratic Forum.
Faces charges of criminal intimidation
and extortion. Got anticipatory bail but Government arrested him
on the flimsy ground that a bar he owned remained open beyond the
stipulated time of 11 p.m.
J. Murlitharan
Former Assembly Deputy Speaker
Accused of attempting to murder the election
agent of his opponent John Pandiyan on election day in Tamil Nadu
in May.
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Meanwhile, though Sasikala remains her favourite
aide, Jayalalitha may not lavish benevolence on her friend's extended
family. By the arrest of Sudhakaran, and more importantly his father Vivekanandan,
who is the family patriarch, she has also sent a message to Sasikala's
family that she cannot be taken for granted.
Sources say the chief minister has set a deadline
for every case filed after she took over, the others being those against
former chief minister and DMK President M. Karunanidhi, his son and Chennai
Mayor M.K. Stalin, TMC Democratic Forum legislator B. Renganathan and
a couple of other DMK men. Says a police source: "Sudhakaran has
to be kept in custody for a long time to prove the charges."
While it appears that Sudhakaran's stay in the
prison will be long enough, thanks to the charges of possession of heroin,
there is something striking about the manner in which the sections of
the NDPS Act were included in the case. The police, who raided Sudhakaran's
residence on the basis of the complaint of threat and attempt to murder,
say the heroin was an accidental recovery. Says advocate Philip Thomas,
an office bearer of the lawyers' wing of the AIADMK: "Had it been
a haul based on intelligence reports, the chances of the accused getting
bail would have been higher. Here is a case of a chance recovery, which
means no mala fide intentions on the part of the investigators."
However, there are tell-tale signs of a plant.
And a crude one at that. The police initially said the haul was of 16
kg of heroin and then corrected this to 16 gm. Moreover, the polythene
pack bore a label that said "heroin". "Will anyone using
a drug put a label on the pack?" asks a Sudhakaran aide. Sudhakaran
may be a megalomaniac but his aides and AIADMK men confide he was certainly
not on drugs.
After being remanded, the flamboyant Sudhakaran
told reporters in the court premises, "This is an important day in
my life. I have been falsely implicated in the case. I believe in God
and he will come to my rescue."
But at the moment, it is the goddess of Poes
Garden who is cracking the whip on him.
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