Police get five day custody of ex CM Jaya’s driver Kanagaraj’s brother

The police moved the court on 26 October seeking ten days custody of Dhanabal. However, the District judge-cum-Chief judicial magistrate of Udhagamandalam, C. Sanjai Baba allowed five days custody of the accused. As the case came up for hearing, police produced Dhanabal, who was lodged in Gudalur sub-jail before the court.

He was arrested along with his relative R Ramesh on charges of destroying evidence in connection with the case and was remanded to judicial custody till 8 November.

Meanwhile, the counsel for the accused Dhanabal and Ramesh have filed a bail plea and it is likely to be taken up for hearing on Friday. Police sources said that Dhanabal had destroyed the mobile phone of his brother Kanagaraj by setting it on fire. Curiously, he was also raising allegations of foul play in the death of his brother.

Kanagaraj died in a road mishap near Attur on 24 April 2017 on the Salem-Ulundurpet highway, when he made a right turn towards a service lane in his two-wheeler.  Five special teams formed to probe into the Kodanad case have so far inquired more than 35 eye witnesses.

On the night of 23 April, 2017, a heavily armed gang broke into the Kodanad estate bungalow of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa following her demise and looted valuables after murdering the security guard.