New Delhi/Chennai: The Delhi police booked on Monday Sasikala’s nephew and AIADMK (Amma) deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran for allegedly trying to bribe Election Commission (EC) officials for the erstwhile AIAD-MK’s election symbol.
The police said he was trying for his faction the “two leaves” symbol in a byelection to the R.K. Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu. Sasikala’s faction had adopted the “hat” symbol after the EC froze the AIADMK’s “two leaves” symbol acknowledging a split in the party.
The FIR was lodged after the police arrested a middleman, Sukesh Chandrasekhar, from a five-star hotel in Delhi on Sunday. The police also recovered from him Rs 1.30 crore and two cars — a BMW and a Mercedes. The police said the cash was to be used to bribe EC officials.
Mr Dhinakaran denied all charges and vowed to fight the case legally. He also denied having known Chandrasekhar at all.
The police is probing Chandrasekhar’s links with EC officials. “It has been learnt that Chandrasekhar had struck a deal of '50 crore for helping the Sasikala faction keep the ‘two leaves’ symbol,” said a police official.
DCP (crime) Madhur Verma said that Chandrasekhar said during interrogation that he was in touch with Mr Dhinakaran and had assured him that he could get the frozen symbol for the bypoll.
Meanwhile in Chennai, strongly denying the charges of trying to bribe the EC, Dhinakaran on Monday vowed to fight the case legally and alleged that “efforts were being made to destroy our organisation politically”.
“I do not know who is Sukesh Chandrasekhar. I came to know only through television that he has told my name. I am attending thousands of phone calls every day. This can be one of them. Somebody is doing this to destroy the party.” He also said he did not get any summons from Delhi police.
"If I get summons, I will face it legally", he asserted.
He added, "No one asked me to dismiss health minister C. Vijayabaskar. He will continue as health minister". The three ministers who were charged with obstructing the I-T officials during the I-T raids on Vijayabaskar would also face it legally, he said.
"How does a broker or somebody say the money was from TTV Dhinakaran? I don't know anybody by that name nor have I come across any such name in my life," he told reporters here.
"Such information is being spread to destroy our organisation politically. He was on his way to meet his aunt and jailed party chief Sasikala in Bengaluru, he said in conclusion.
