Sasikala's nephew Vivek Jayaraman questioned by police in Kodanad heist case

It is learnt that the team may summon Vivek's sister Krishnapriya and J Jayalalithaa’s close aide VK Sasikala, too.
Vivek Jayaraman, Jaya TV CEO and VK Sasikala's nephew
Vivek Jayaraman, Jaya TV CEO and VK Sasikala's nephew
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Vivek Jayaraman, the CEO of Jaya TV and VK Sasikala's nephew, was questioned in connection with the Kodanad heist and murder case, on Wednesday, December 22. Vivek was asked to appear before the investigating team in Coimbatore and was questioned by a team led by Western Region Inspector General R Sudhakar, IPS. The Kodanad estate was late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha’s second office and residence for years.

According to sources, the police wanted to know what valuable items and files, among other documents, were bestowed at the estate and whether anything has gone missing. During the initial investigation, the investigating officer had not made an inventory of the valuable items stored in the estate. With those who managed and lived in the estate also refusing to be forthcoming about inventory, the investigating team is trying to piece together if any important items went missing and whether that would point to the person who may have sanctioned the crime.

Vivek, along with his mother, Ilavarasi, has lived in both the Poes Garden and Kodanad residences of Jayalalithaa. It is learnt that the team may summon Vivek's sister Krishnapriya and Sasikala, too. Sasikala was Jayalalithaa’s close aide.

In April 2017, a watchman who worked at former CM Jayalalithaa's estate in Kodanad was found murdered. A gang of 11 robbers, headed by Kanakaraj, Jayalalithaa's former driver, and a man named Sayan from Kerala, had broken in, murdered the guard. They escaped with 10 watches and a crystal rhino worth Rs 42,000 on April 23, 2017.

Five days later, Kanakaraj was killed in an accident and Sayan met with an accident. Though Sayan survived the accident, he lost his wife and child in the accident.

Following allegations of lapses in the investigation, the state police, under the new DMK government, filed a memo in August 2021, informing the Madras High Court that they were doing further investigation into the case. Three of the accused in the case had earlier filed a petition seeking an investigation, alleging that AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami played a role in the heist.

Following this, several people have been questioned, including the former manager of the bungalow. This is, however, the first time that Vivek has been summoned by the police.

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