- Guarded by 30 security men, she brings her own media team from TN
- V.K. Sasikala, the close aide of late TN CM Jayalalithaa, visits Nimishamba, Chamundeshwari and Srikanteshwara temples
Mysuru/Nanjangud: A day after a Special Court in Bengaluru granted bail to former AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala — a close aide of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa — in connection with a case alleging preferential treatment to her in prison, she is on a temple run in Mysuru District.
The court also granted bail to Sasikala’s sister-in-law J. Ilavarasi. The two were named in the chargesheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Karnataka. While yesterday Sasikala, accompanied by Ilavarasi, visited Nimishamba Temple at Ganjam in Srirangapatna, this morning she visited Sri Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hill and later offered prayers at Srikanteshwaraswamy Temple in Nanjangud.
Sources told Star of Mysore that after the Court hearing where she secured bail, Sasikala and Ilavarasi drove to Mysuru and visited Nimishamba Temple During a visit to Nimishamba three years ago, Sasikala had reportedly taken a vow that she would visit the Temple again.
Her close aides said that Sasikala and her family members visited the Temple at 3.50 pm and fulfilled the vow after performing special rituals. She was guarded by a posse of over 30 security guards. Interestingly, the local media was not allowed to accompany Sasikala and she had brought her own media team from Tamil Nadu.
This morning, she visited Sri Chamundeshwari Temple. Here too, she was closely guarded by the security personnel.
While the security had a tough time in controlling the crowd that was vying for a selfie with their leader, cries of ‘Chinnamma’ (Sasikala is addressed like this in TN) rent the air. Later, her convoy proceeded to Nanjangud.
Preferential treatment case
Sasikala was sentenced to four years in prison in a disproportionate assets case on Feb. 14, 2017. She was released from Central Prison in Bengaluru in 2021. In 2017, former Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) D. Roopa had flagged the special treatment granted to Sasikala, and had released pictures of a pressure cooker and vessels in her cell. She had also claimed that Sasikala was allowed to wear civilian clothes instead of clothes meant for prisoners.
An inquiry committee report on the directions of the State Government had shown that Sasikala was provided A-class facilities even though no instructions regarding such provisions had been given. In December, Karnataka Govt. had sanctioned the prosecution of the accused and a charge-sheet in the case was filed on Jan. 7 this year.
Apart from Sasikala and Ilavarasi, ACB had named certain jail officials in the matter. During yesterday’s hearing, the Special Court for the Prevention of Corruption Act ordered Sasikala and Ilavarasi to pay a bond of Rs. 3 lakh. The two were asked to appear before the Court on April 16 again.
This post was published on March 12, 2022 6:45 pm