Jayalalithaa's Kodanadu estate accountant kills self; fourth in series

Udhagamandalam (Tamil Nadu): In yet another death of a person connected with late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s Kodanadu estate, one of its accountants was found hanging in his house on Monday, police said.

Twenty-eight-year-old Dinesh Kumar was found hanging from the ceiling at his house in Kothagiri under mysterious circumstances, they said.

The death comes more than two months after one of the security guards at the estate bungalow near Udhagamandalam was murdered by a gang on April 24 and a suspect died later in road mishap. Another suspect in the breakin-cum-murder was seriously injured in a road accident, that left his wife and daughter dead.

The body of Kumar, one of the three accountants attached to the estate which used to be Jayalalithaa’s retreat, was taken to Kothagiri Government hospital, where a postmortem will be carried out on Tuesday, police said.

Family sources said Kumar and some of the other staff in the estate were two days ago reportedly discussing the fate of their jobs with the likely change in management of the sprawling estate.

Police said they were also investigating whether there was any family dispute behind the death of Kumar.

The Kodanadu estate figures in the disproportionate assets case involving jailed AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala and late Jayalalithaa, among others.