Days after Tehelka’s former editor Mathew Samuel accused Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami of being behind the break-in of Kodanadu estate in 2017 and five deaths thereafter, the members of the gang Sayan and Manoj have been picked up by the police in New Delhi on Sunday. Chennai police sources confirmed to TNM that the two had been picked up for inquiry based on a complaint filed by AIADMK leader Rajan Chelappan's son Satyan. The duo, who are accused in the 2017 burglary at Jayalalithaa's Kodanadu estate and murder of security guard Om Bahadur had claimed that CM Edappadi Palanisamy was the one who ordered the break in.
On Sunday evening, Mathew Samuel released a selfie video in which he said that he was with Sayan and ‘Walayar’ Manoj at Sector 9 in Dwaraka, New Delhi. "I had just left the place. A private vehicle came with police sticker on it. They took Sayan and Manoj forcibly. They have kidnapped them. I strongly believe it is the hands of Palanisamy," he said.
Mathew had screened a 16-minute video on Friday about the Kodanadu theft and the events that happened after that. He had recorded the testimonies of Sayan and 'Walayar' Manoj. The two had claimed on video and later in a press meet that Kanakaraj (Jayalalithaa's former driver) had told them that he had been instructed by Edappadi Palanisamy to retrieve Rs 2,000 crore money and important documents. Kanakaraj, died in an accident in April 2017, which was termed ‘mysterious’ by many. Sayan too met with an accident the same day, though he managed to survive, his wife and child were killed.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Palaniswami denied these allegations and stated that the report is not true. “The people who put it out and those behind them will face severe action. I have filed a complaint with the police and they have taken it up," he added.
He also alleged that the case was already in the court and that the Accused No 2 and No 3 have not mentioned any of this, despite appearing in the court 22 times. The Chief Minister also added that raking the issue up now is an attempt to divert the case.
A special team of Tamil Nadu police had set out to New Delhi on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin demanded that Edappadi Palaniswami must resign from his post immediately. He also sought the central government to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter under the supervision of the Madras High Court.
“Yesterday, Edappadi (Palaniswami) met the reporters and yet he couldn’t respond to any allegations raised by Mathew. By watching the way Edappadi (Palaniswami) was crouching, it is evident that he was the one behind all these deaths. He did not refute any of the allegations put forth by Mathew. He just said that the case is in progress and that this was a political conspiracy,” he stated. Adding that the DMK will take the issue to the attention of the President and the Governor, Stalin said that his party has sought an appointment to meet with the Governor on Monday to discuss the matter.