CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday said that the assistance of Interpol was needed to expose the links in Kodanad murder-cum-heist case.

Replying to the debate on the demand for grants for the home department in the State Assembly, Stalin said that a forensic examination of the SIM cards used by the accused revealed that they had received international calls during the commission of the crime.

Deeming it his ‘duty’ to apprise the House of the action taken by his government in the sensational murder-cum-heist in the bungalow used by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2017, Chief Minister Stalin said, “So far, about 268 witnesses have been investigated. Eight cell phones and four SIM cards used by the accused were sent for forensic examination to the regional forensic laboratory in Coimbatore. An 8,000-page report has been received from the Forensic lab.”

He went on to say, “At the time of the incident, a few of the accused had received international calls. Hence, it must be probed with the help of Interpol. We are investigating if a few more people are involved in the case.”

The murder-cum-heist case became the talking point of State politics after a security guard there was murdered by suspected robbers in 2017. The issue rocked the State politics later when one of the accused in the case alluded to the involvement of a very highly placed politician in the crime.