Former Tamil Nadu DGP Letika Saran laid the foundation of the case when she conducted the court-ordered inquiry following the petition filed by Subramanian Swamy alleging that J Jayalalithaa acquired properties disproportionate to her known sources of income in the Principal Sessions Court on June 21, 1996.
The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala and others in the Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case based on the investigation done by two officers —Letika Saran and Nallamma Nadu.
Former Tamil Nadu DGP Letika Saran laid the foundation of the case when she conducted the court-ordered inquiry following the petition filed by Subramanian Swamy alleging that J Jayalalithaa acquired properties disproportionate to her known sources of income in the Principal Sessions Court on June 21, 1996. After the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption took over the case, Naidu was appointed as the investigation officer and he filed the charge sheet.
Former DGP Letika Saran expressed satisfaction over the case ending in the conviction. “For an investigation officer, when the case ends in conviction it is a vindication of the stand taken,” she told DNA.
“I was the first investigating officer appointed by the court. Subramanian Swamy (then president of Janata Dal) filed the petition before the Session court in Chennai, and the court directed an inquiry under section 202 of Criminal Penal Code,” Saran said. The court had ordered to her to investigate the complaint to collect necessary materials in a fair and impartial manner and submit a report in two months.
Her investigation laid the foundation for the case. She collected records and documents from various banks, registration offices and from the registrar of firms pertaining to the investments and properties standing in the name of Jayalalithaa and Sasikala and her close relatives.
“While I was three weeks into the investigation, there was a stay brought on the investigation. Madras High Court on September 4, 1996, passed the order directing the director of DVAC to register a case and investigate and left the choice of investigating officer entirely to the director,” she said, adding that the evidence collected in her probe was taken forward in the further investigation and a charge sheet was filed based on it.
The then DVAC Director VC Perumal filed the first information report on September 18, 1996 based on the document and material collected so far. Nallamma Naidu who was appointed as investigating officer took up further investigation. He conducted searches at the residential premises of Jayalalithaa and various other locations and seized voluminous documents and material objects.
Sasikala, Ilavarasi and VN Sudhakaran were made co-accused based on the incriminating evidence collected during the investigation by Naidu that unravelled their complicity in the amassment of ill-gotten wealth. The investigating officer filed the charge sheet against all the accused on June 4, 1997. The case ended in the conviction in the special court in Bengaluru despite several prosecution witness turning hostile.
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