<p>Two palatial bungalows – one in the picturesque Nilgiris and another just outside this metropolis – which were the favourite retreats of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and owned by her close aide V K Sasikala and her family members will be attached under the Benami Act.</p>.<p>The Benami Prohibition Unit of the Income Tax Department here has begun the process of attaching the two properties worth Rs 2,000 crore by issuing a notice to Sasikala, her sister-in-law Ilavarasi, and nephew V N Sudhakaran, who was the foster son of Jayalalithaa.</p>.<p>The trio is serving four-year imprisonment in the disproportionate assets (DA) case in which Jayalalithaa was also an accused. But she was not convicted as she had died when the final verdict was delivered by the Supreme Court in 2017.</p>.<p>Interestingly, notices displayed outside the sprawling bungalow at Siruthavoor, 50 km from here, mentioned that copies were also being served to J Deepa and J Deepak, the legal heirs of Jayalalithaa as declared by the Madras High Court, besides Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran.</p>.<p>The orders dated October 6, signed by U N Dilip, Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (Benami Prohibition), said the provisional attachment of the properties is being done under Section 24 (3) of the Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.</p>.<p>While the notices were displayed outside the Siruthavoor bungalow on Wednesday, reports from Nilgiris said no such notices were stuck in the Kodanad Estate premises till the time of writing. The developments came on the day the ruling AIADMK resolved its internal struggle by naming incumbent Edappadi K Palaniswami as its chief ministerial face for the upcoming 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.</p>.<p>The Kodanad Estate Bungalow, about 20 km from Kothagiri in the Nilgiris, was Jayalalithaa’s favourite summer retreat and she had often visited the Siruthavoor bungalow whenever she wanted a break. When her Poes Garden residence was being renovated in the early 2000s, Jayalalithaa made the bungalow in Siruthavoor her residence.</p>.<p>The action by the I-T department comes amid speculation that Sasikala might walk free from the jail by the end of this year. It also comes over a month after the department attached over 60 properties, including a mall in Chennai and a resort in neighbouring Puducherry, owned by Sasikala through her benamis.</p>.<p>Last year, the I-T sleuths had attached assets worth Rs 1,500 crore allegedly purchased by Sasikala after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes was announced by the Centre in November 2016.</p>
<p>Two palatial bungalows – one in the picturesque Nilgiris and another just outside this metropolis – which were the favourite retreats of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and owned by her close aide V K Sasikala and her family members will be attached under the Benami Act.</p>.<p>The Benami Prohibition Unit of the Income Tax Department here has begun the process of attaching the two properties worth Rs 2,000 crore by issuing a notice to Sasikala, her sister-in-law Ilavarasi, and nephew V N Sudhakaran, who was the foster son of Jayalalithaa.</p>.<p>The trio is serving four-year imprisonment in the disproportionate assets (DA) case in which Jayalalithaa was also an accused. But she was not convicted as she had died when the final verdict was delivered by the Supreme Court in 2017.</p>.<p>Interestingly, notices displayed outside the sprawling bungalow at Siruthavoor, 50 km from here, mentioned that copies were also being served to J Deepa and J Deepak, the legal heirs of Jayalalithaa as declared by the Madras High Court, besides Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran.</p>.<p>The orders dated October 6, signed by U N Dilip, Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (Benami Prohibition), said the provisional attachment of the properties is being done under Section 24 (3) of the Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.</p>.<p>While the notices were displayed outside the Siruthavoor bungalow on Wednesday, reports from Nilgiris said no such notices were stuck in the Kodanad Estate premises till the time of writing. The developments came on the day the ruling AIADMK resolved its internal struggle by naming incumbent Edappadi K Palaniswami as its chief ministerial face for the upcoming 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.</p>.<p>The Kodanad Estate Bungalow, about 20 km from Kothagiri in the Nilgiris, was Jayalalithaa’s favourite summer retreat and she had often visited the Siruthavoor bungalow whenever she wanted a break. When her Poes Garden residence was being renovated in the early 2000s, Jayalalithaa made the bungalow in Siruthavoor her residence.</p>.<p>The action by the I-T department comes amid speculation that Sasikala might walk free from the jail by the end of this year. It also comes over a month after the department attached over 60 properties, including a mall in Chennai and a resort in neighbouring Puducherry, owned by Sasikala through her benamis.</p>.<p>Last year, the I-T sleuths had attached assets worth Rs 1,500 crore allegedly purchased by Sasikala after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes was announced by the Centre in November 2016.</p>
