Court cancels bail of 2 accused in Kodanad case

District Judge P Vadamalai cancelled the bail of KV Sayan and ‘Walayar’ Manoj following a petition moved by public prosecutor Bala Nandhakumar on January 18.

In his petition, Bala Nandhakumar claimed that the two persons were threatening the prosecution witnesses by stating that the burglary was executed at the behest of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

The duo triggered a political storm by giving interviews in television channels, in which they said they broke in to the estate owned by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to steal documents. The incident also led tothe murder of a security guard on April 24, 2017.

Following an investigation, police arrested ten persons identified as K V Sayan, SanthoshSami, Deepu, Satheeshan, M Kutti alias Bijin, Jithin Joy, Manoj Sami, Zamsheer, Udhayakumar and Manoj.

Sayan, Manoj, Deepu and Bijin failed to turn up for the hearing on Friday, while six others appeared before the court. The counsel for each of the four persons submitted petitions citing various reasons for their client failing to appear in court.

Besides cancelling the bail, the Judge also issued an arrest warrant against Sayan and Manoj. He also dismissed the discharge petition filed on behalf of eight others in the case. An arrest warrant was also issued against Deepu and Bijin for failing to appear in court.