On return from jail, Sasikala to stay at niece’s T Nagar house

On return from jail, Sasikala to stay at niece’s T Nagar house

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:26.01.2021 

Former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s close-aide V K Sasikala will have a new address when she returns home.

With Jayalalithaa’s Veda Nilayam in Poes Garden, where she stayed for close to three decades, set to become a political landmark in Chennai, No 179, Habibullah Road, Thyagaraya Nagar in the city would be Sasikala’s home for now. Arrangements have been made for her to reside in the house, adjacent to the residence of her niece, J Krishnapriya, where she stayed for a few days during her parole in 2017.

On Monday, AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran tweeted that Sasikala would be released from prison on January 27. “As the Covid-19 infection has reduced considerably and her health is improving, we will consult doctors about her discharge from hospital and announce her return to Chennai later,” Dhinakaran said.

But Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence would not be open to Sasikala anymore. The Edappadi K Palaniswami government took over the house and turned it into a museum that would be opened to the public on January 28. Moreover, the Income Tax department has attached Sasikala’s nine-ground property opposite to Veda Nilayam, where construction was going on until a few months ago.

Krishnapriya is the daughter of J Ilavarasi, Sasikala’s sister-in-law and co-convict in the disproportionate assets case. “The Habibullah Road residence is a property of Anjaneya Printers Private Limited, in which Krishnapriya is one of the directors. Once she resumes her political activities, Sasikala will find it comfortable in the house, which would draw hordes of visitors, especially ahead of the election,” said a source. Ilavarasi too may stay with Sasikala. Ilavarasi will be released from prison on February 5.

On Monday, Sasikala’s lawyers prepared all the necessary documents for her release from prison. “An application has been submitted to the prison authorities to obtain a certificate for completion of her four-year sentence. They have processed the documents and will present the papers to us on Wednesday morning,” Sasikala’s counsel N Raja Senthoor Pandian told TOI.

Meanwhile, as AMMK made preparations to extend a grand welcome to Sasikala from the state border and all along the route to Chennai, cadres eagerly await to hear her political plans. “There have been calls from our cadres on the date of her release. Our leader stood by Amma (Jayalalithaa) for long. Every cadre wants her to take over the reins of the AIADMK and steer the party,” said AMMK deputy general secretary G Senthamizhan said.

NEW ADDRESS: Sasikala stayed in the house during her parole