Bribery case: Dhinakaran arrested as AIADMK factions inch closer to merger

The development came after 10-hour long grilling of Dinakaran

Delhi Police arrested All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Deputy General Secretary and V K Sasikala's nephew TTV Dhinakaran in the attempted bribery case to election commission officials for getting two leaves symbol.

He was arrested along with his friend Mallikarjun on Tuesday late night. 

The development came after 10-hour long grilling of the ousted AIADMK member by the Crime Branch office of the Delhi Police for the fourth day in a row.

Reports quoting Police says Dhinakaran had confessed to meeting Sukesh Chandrasekar, the middleman who was earlier arrested in the case. However, the AIADMK leader maintains that he did not pay any money to Chandrasekar, and has denied the allegations against him.

It was alleged that he tried bribing an Election Commission official to get the party's 'two leaves' symbol, which was seized by the Election Commission after the party split into two, following J Jayalalithaa's death.

According to sources, Dhinakaran was given a questionnaire and an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) questioned him.

The questionnaire included queries about the money trail, his association with Chandrashekhar, the middleman alleged to have struck deal for Rs 50 crore to help Dhinakaran's AIADMK faction keep the 'two leaves' poll symbol, how many times he met Chandrashekhar and whether any meeting with the Election Commission officials took place, or not, etc, according to agencies.

Last Thursday, a team of the Delhi Police Crime Branch reached Chennai and served a notice on Dhinakaran and asked him to join the probe.

The Delhi Police had issued a lookout notice against Dhinakaran on Tuesday.

The police had arrested and sent Sukesh to custody for allegedly striking a deal of Rs. 50 crore to help the Dhinakaran faction keep the 'two leaves' poll symbol.

The Crime Branch recovered approximately Rs 1.3 crore and two luxury cars, a BMW and a Mercedes, from Chandrashekhar.

Dhinakaran was also named as an accused in the FIR, filed by the Delhi Police Crime Branch.

Dhinakaran's faction contested on the hat symbol for the RK Nagar assembly bypolls, which fell vacant after Jayalalithaa's death, after the Election Commission froze their two leaves symbol while acknowledging the split in the party.

The polling was later cancelled by the Election Commission.