The Delhi police have arrested the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK) leader, yesterday night, for allegedly attempting to bribe an Election Commission (EC) official to get the undivided AIADMK “two leaves” symbol for his faction.
The AIADMK leader reached the Crime Branch Inter State Cell office in Chanakyapuri at 5 PM. After being questioned for close to six hours, he was arrested, said Joint Commissioner of Police (crime), Praveer Ranjan.
The Joint Commissioner said, apart from Dinakaran, his long time friend Mallikarjuna was also arrested for allegedly facilitating the deal between Dinakaran and the middle man in the EC bribery case, Sukesh Chandrasekar, after being interrogated for the second day, on the run. Mallikarjuna had been accompanying the AIADMK leader everywhere, ever since the arrest of the middleman. Chandrasekar was arrested on April 16, for allegedly striking a deal of Rs 50 crore to help the AIADMK (Amma) faction keep the poll symbol. All the three convicts will be questioned together to get information about the money trail, details of the deal and whether more people were involved in it. Dinakaran’s Personal Assistant, Janardhana has agreed to be a witness in the case, says sources.
Yesterday, Dinakaran had admitted to meeting Chandrasekhar, assuming he was a high court judge. The AIADMK leader, however, denied the paid money to the middleman, for getting the party’s poll symbol. Earlier, he maintained that he never met him. The Delhi police produced Chandrasekar before a special court, which extended his custody till April 28. The court was told that Chandrasekar had been paid the money through hawala channels. An unknown person, by the name, Shah Faisal said that he had collected a parcel from Chennai and gave it to Chandrasekar, who had posed to be a member of Parliament. The police suspect the parcel to contain a huge Rs 10 crore. About three hawala operators will also be questioned in connection with the case, said the Delhi police. Dinakaran and his friend will be produced before a city court tomorrow, says reports.
Amid moves to merge rival factions led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami and his predecessor O Panneerselvam (OPS), Dinakaran and AIADMK chief V.K. Sasikala were sidelined from the party. Recently, a powerful section of the ruling AIADMK (Amma) revolted against the Sasikala-Dhinakaran leadership. The development came after the OPS camp demanded removal of Sasikala and Dinakaran, as a condition for merger talks.
No AIADMK Merger; Expel Sasikala, Dinakaran From Party First, Says OPS Camp
By Supraja
