Palanisamy's govt hand in glove in granting parole to Sasikala: Jayalalithaa's niece

Deepa Jayakumar, late Jayalalithaa's neice, on Saturday accused the Tamil Nadu government led by Edappadi Palanisamy for being "hand in glove" in the entire operation of granting five-day parole to V.K. Sasikala.

Sasikala, expelled general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), has been lodged in the Parapana Agrahara central jail since February this year after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction by a special court in a disproportionate assets case.

Sasikala was granted a five-day parole by the Karnataka prison authorities on Friday, to attend to her ailing husband in Chennai.

Talking to ANI, Jayakumar said it is evident that Palanisamy's government is hand-in-glove with Sasikala in the parole episode.

She said that granting parole to Sasikala is a serious case of violation of the law from the government's side, as by law she should have at least completed half her term in prison before getting the relief.

She also expressed apprehensions about Sasikala influencing the probe in former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa's death case.

"Now when she is out, she can directly influence the inquiry commission set up in Jayalalithaa's death case," Jayakumar said.

The Tamil Nadu government last month announced the constitution of a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice A. Arumughaswamy, retired judge of the Madras High Court, to investigate the death of Jayalalithaa.

Sasikala's role during the treatment and death of Jayalalithaa is under scanner.

On September 23, Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Dindigul Sreenivasan said that all ministers of the state had lied to the people about hospitalisation and death of Jayalalithaa, a.ka. Amma, at Chennai's Apollo Hospital last year.

He said that only once a closest confidant of Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her family had access to see Amma.

Sasikala was removed from the AIADMK last month after the factions led by Chief Minister Palanisamy and now Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, joined hands.