Jaya's niece Deepa says she was manhandled in Poes Garden bungalow

High drama prevailed in Chennai's Poes Garden on Sunday morning with late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa Jayakumar alleging that she was manhandled when she entered the Veda Nilayam bungalow of her late aunt. She also engaged in a war of words with her brother Deepak and even went on to accuse him of conspiring along with Sasikala to murder her aunt Jayalalithaa.

Deepa, who has floated MGR Amma Deepa Peravai, said she visited her aunt's bungalow following an invitation from her brother to take part in a puja to pay homage to Jayalalithaa.

However, she alleged that Deepak along with AIADMK (Amma) General Secretary VK Sasikala and deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran were behind the attack on her and a television channel crew. Following the incident, tension prevailed in the posh residential area with a large posse of police deployed.

"It was Deepak who has been repeatedly calling me since early morning to come to the Poes Garden to garland the portrait. I had no plans to come here but he kept on insisting. He initially asked me to come all alone but I refused and came along with my husband (K Madhavan)," she told reporters outside Veda Nilayam even as she gasped for breath.

Deepa was also seen entering into a heated argument with her brother on why he had asked her to come there. Her husband Madhavan, who had fallen out with his wife and floated his own party, was by her side. Deepak was present when she arrived.

Deepak told a Tamil news channel that he only had invited Deepa. "She came and garlanded a portrait of Amma in the bungalow. But no attack took place," he claimed.

Deepa said the attack began when she asked to remove Sasikala's portrait. "I was attacked when I tried to stop the attack on a private TV crew," she said, adding she was planning to take legal action as there was a conspiracy to kill her.

When asked whether she plans to initiate steps to legally claim Jayalalithaa's property, Deepa said she has already begun the process. "I wanted to stake claim for the legacy of my aunt as well, including on her party and what all she cherished and valued," she said.

She said she has also sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise various issues and to seek his intervention to stop the unnecessary politicisation of her aunt's property and her house. When asked why she wanted to raise a private affair with the PM, she said, "If a property is going to be turned into a monument, it is no longer a family affair. It is not a private matter."

Even after Jayalalithaa's death last year, the Poes Garden residence was occupied by Sasikala until she surrendered in a Bengaluru court in February to serve her term in the disproportionate asset (DA) case. There have been demands from O Panneerselvam camp that the house be converted into a memorial.