Prime suspect in break-in, murder at Jayalalithaa's estate dies in accident

 Kanagaraj, Jayalalithaa's former driver who she had sacked, was on a bike when he was hit by a car on Friday evening.

Kanagaraj, Jayalalithaa's former driver who she had sacked, was on a bike when he was hit by a car on Friday evening.

 Chennai: The prime suspect in the break-in and murder of a security guard at late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad estate, has been found dead.

According to The Newsminute, Kanagaraj, who was once Jayalalithaa’s driver, died in an accident near Attur in Salem on Friday night.

Kanagaraj, for whom the police had launched a hunt, was on a bike when he was hit by a Karnataka registered car at 8:30 pm on Friday.

The report said that Jayalalithaa had sacked Kanagaraj, who is from Chennai, after she found out that he was misusing her name.

But he was already aware of the details of the Kodanad estate, said the report, and visited it many times in the past.

Of the 7 people detained so far in relation to the case, 3 were allegedly associates of Kanagaraj.

Kanagaraj befriended one Sayan of Thrissur when he was working at a bakery in Coimbatore. Following Jayalalithaa's death, he hatched a conspiracy with Sayan to loot the Kodanadu bungalow.

Sayan then arranged for a five-member gang from Thrissur, said the report.

On the night of April 24, the men broke into the Kodanad estate after killing security guard Om Bahadur and severely assaulting another.

The report claims that the men then broke into the rooms Jayalalithaa and Sasikala used at the bungalow, and possibly made away with some valuables.

Of the 7 arrested in the case, one is a tipper driver, another a temple priest and the third a labourer. The identities of the others are not known, said the report.

Police plan to bring all seven to Nilgiris district on Saturday.

Though the Kodanad property has six gates and guards were guarding all of them on the night of April 24, it has not been visited since February, after Sasikala was arrested in the Disproportionate Assets case.

The estate was used as a summer retreat by Jayalalithaa to escape the Chennai heat, said reports.

Incidentally, it is also part of the allegations of disproportionate assets against the late Tamil Nadu CM.