Don suicide: TN police may seek Interpol help

It is not clear how the Tamil Nadu police are going to approach the case. “The police can seek a DNA test to confirm the identity, as he was living with fake Sri Lankan passport after he went underground from Dubai in the beginning of the year,” police sources said. His daughter Dhanalakshmi and his lawyer had both left Chennai for Cambodian receiving the news and reportedly reached Phnom Penh, the capital city of that country. 

His son Santhosh was expected to fly from London to Cambodia, sources added. The state police are yet to take a decision on sending a team to Cambodia to confirm the identity of Sridhar Dhanapal, who reportedly committed suicide by consuming poison. Though the TN police sources had confirmed the death, based on information leaked in the family circle of the don, the police are struggling to get an official confirmation about the death of the proclaimed offender. 

It is believed that the police would seek the help of Interpol to get the identity confirmed. The don from Kancheepuram is facing as many as 43 police cases in the state, apart from money laundering cases booked by the Enforcement Directorate. Sources in both the police and ED had not ruled out the possibility of the don faking the death. He had gone to Dubai in the year 2013 and had been operating from there till he left the Gulf early this year, with a fake Sri Lankan passport. 

Last year, the Enforcement Directorate and Kancheepuram police had attached 128 properties worth over Rs.160 crore belonging to him and his family members in connection with various cases, including money laundering.   

The ED and Kancheepuram police have been mounting pressure on Sridhar by summoning and questioning his wife, son, daughter and his brother. The latter has already been arrested. “If he is really dead, and if we get an official confirmation, we will close the case against the don. 

In any case, we have attached his properties worth Rs 160 crore. Except for the fact that we cannot try him in a court of law, all other procedures are over from our side,” said an ED official.