A witness in the two-leaves election bribery case, in which AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran is an accused, died by suicide on Wednesday, April 6. The deceased has been identified as 31-year-old advocate Gopinath, who worked as a junior under advocate Mohanraj, who is TTV Dhinakaran’s counsel in the bribery case. The case pertains to the alleged bribing of Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the VK Sasikala faction.
Gopinath had been practising at Poonamallee court and he was the organising secretary of PMK of the Thiruverkadu area. His senior, advocate Mohanraj has previously been questioned and raided by the Delhi police in connection with the case. The advocate’s body has been recovered and has been sent for a post-mortem.
The advocate’s death comes hours after the Enforcement Directorate summoned TTV Dhinakaran to appear before it in connection with this case on April 8. The ED summoned AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged bribing of Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the VK Sasikala faction.
This comes after the agency arrested jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is another accused in this case. Both Dhinakaran and Chandrashekhar were arrested by the Delhi Police crime branch in 2017.
Officials said they have recorded the statement of Chandrashekhar in this case early this month and now they want to question Dhinakaran to take the probe forward. The 58-year-old AMMK general secretary has been asked to depose before the agency on April 8. His statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once he deposes.
Sukesh Chandrashekar was arrested in April 2017 from a five-star hotel by the Delhi police for allegedly taking money from Dhinakaran to bribe Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the VK Sasikala faction in a by-election to the RK Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu.
Dhinakaran, who was chargesheeted by the police, was also arrested by the Delhi police after four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe EC officials for the symbol. The bye-poll was necessitated by the death of the then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who represented the Assembly seat.
The EC had frozen the AIADMK's symbol after the two factions — one led by Dhinakaran's aunt Sasikala and the other by former chief minister O Panneerselvam — staked a claim to it. Dhinakaran's close aide Mallikarjuna was also arrested for allegedly facilitating a Rs 50 crore deal between him and Chandrashekar.
Dhinakaran was the deputy general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and was expelled from the party in August 2017. He later launched his political party called the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 amd and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to inidviduals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.