Dinakaran grilled for seven hours, interrogation to continue tomorrow

Ousted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader T.T.V. Dinakaran on Saturday appeared before the crime branch of the Delhi Police in connection with a case involving bribing of an Election Commission official to get the party's 'two leaves' symbol and was interrogated for around seven hours.

The interrogation will further continue tomorrow.

During the interrogation, Sukesh Chandrashekhar, the middleman alleged to have struck a deal for Rs. 50 crore to help Dinakaran's AIADMK faction keep the 'two leaves' poll symbol and Dinakaran's personal assistant Janarthan were also interrogated, sources say.

Dinakaran's phone was taken to check the list of people who he must have contacted.

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) is headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police's (DCP) Legal Cell Shibesh Singh.

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

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

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

Chandrasekhar was picked up from the Hyatt hotel and was produced at the residence of Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry, who allowed the Delhi Police's plea to interrogate the accused for eight days.

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

Dinakaran's faction contested on the hat symbol for the R.K. Nagar Assembly Polls, 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.