PALAKKAD: Kotagiri police in Nilgiris is facing allegations of a cover-up regarding wider conspiracy in the break-in and murder of a watchman at Kodanad Estate of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa involving a quotation gang from Kerala. The first accused in the case and former driver of Ms Jayalalithaa, Kanakaraj had died under mysterious circumstance in a bike accident at Salem on Friday night, and the driver of the car involved in the crash has a criminal record. Kanakaraj’s family has come out in the open claiming that his death was not accidental. The second accused Sayan K.V., a resident of Edakulam in Thrissur, had met with an accident at Kannadi in Palakkad on Saturday morning in which his wife and daughter died. Sayan is presently undergoing treatment in Kuppuswami Hospital in Coimbatore, and his condition is stable according to hospital sources.
The post-mortem report of his wife and daughter which was out on Sunday says that there was no foul play and they died due to the injuries suffered in the accident. Palakkad South CI Manoj Kumar said it was registered as an accident case invoking IPC 304 and the allegations of wider conspiracy needed to be inquired by TN police. But the stand taken by the Kotagiri police and their reluctance to speak on the real conspiracy behind the Kodanad case is receiving flak. They have arrested eight persons from Thrissur who were arranged by Kanakaraj and Sayan and produced Dheepu, Santosh Swami, Udayan and Satheesan at Coonoor court in Nilgiris. But no further details about who asked Kanakaraj to arrange such a break-in at Kodanad Estate is yet to be revealed by the TN cops, reliable sources in Coonoor told DC. The allegation against the police is that they were limiting the case into the operations of a quotation gang even though there were reports of several land documents missing from the Estate after the burglary.
