Delhi Police may send team to Chennai with summons for Dinakaran

Police lodged FIR against Dhinakaran after arresting alleged middleman, Sukesh Chandrashekhar

The Delhi Police is likely to send a team to Chennai with summons for AIADMK (Amma) leader TTV Dinakaran, accused of allegedly trying to bribe an Election Commission official to obtain the 'two-leaves' symbol for his faction.

Police had lodged an FIR against Dinakaran soon after arresting an alleged middleman, Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who was purportedly helping the leader reach out to an unidentified EC official in return for an astounding Rs 50 crore.

Chandrashekhar was questioned for the third consecutive day today by Crime Branch officials on the money trail and possible places where he had stashed away the cash allegedly transferred to him through hawala, a senior police officer said.

"We are trying to establish the money trail and Chandrashekhar is being questioned. After we establish the money trail, a team is likely to be sent to Chennai with the summons for Dinakaran," he said.

Police had claimed that Chandrashekhar had told Dinakaran that he has contacts in the Election Commission who could help the Sasikala faction of the AIADMK get the "two- leaves" symbol.

It was learnt that he had struck a deal for Rs 50 crore for helping the faction obtain the coveted 'two leaves' symbol.

Police said the middleman had got Rs 10 crore of the deal amount and "the remaining amount was to be given to him in a time-bound manner."

They had recovered Rs 1.30 crore from Chandrashekhar and seized two cars -- a BMW and a Mercedes. He was arrested from a five-star hotel here on April 16.

Both, Sasikala's Amma faction and its rival, the Panneerselvam camp, staked claim to the party's 'two-leaves' symbol because it represented Jayalalithaa's powerful legacy. But the Election Commission froze the symbol and asked the two factions to choose other symbols.

The two factions were allotted hat and electric pole symbols, ahead of the RK Nagar Assembly by-poll which was slated to be held on April 12.

However, the by-poll was put in abeyance by the EC after reported irregularities, including the use of money power to influence voters during the campaign.