Key suspect in Jaya estate guard murder case killed in accident

A former driver of late J Jayalalithaa, who is one of the main suspects in the murder of a security guard at her Kodanad estate bungalow,  was killed in a road accident on Friday night.

C Kanakaraj died after his two-wheeler hit a car at Athur in Salem district, police said.

Early on Saturday, another suspect and close friend of Kanakaraj, Sayan alias Shyam, was seriously injured. Sayan’s wife and child died in a road accident in Kerala’s Thrissur district, police said.

Preliminary reports said the car Sayan was driving rammed into a stationary truck near Kannadi junction at 5.45 am. The truck was parked on the road after it developed a snag.

Kanakaraj and Sayan were key suspects in the break-in and murder of security guard Om Bahadur, police said, citing information provided by the three persons taken into custody on Friday in connection with the incident.

The estate figures in the disproportionate assets case involving jailed AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala and former chief minister Jayalalithaa, among others.

Bahadur was found dead on April 24, while some documents were suspected to have been stolen from the premises.  Another guard Kishore, who was seriously wounded, is undergoing treatment.

Quoting locals, the police had then said on the day of the incident a 10-member gang in two vehicles were seen entering the area in the early hours of the day.

Police suspected the motive of the gang could have been to steal valuables or documents as one door of the bungalow was forced open.

Resistance by the guards might have led to the attack on them, they said.