Gold Sword, Crowns Among J Jayalalithaa’s Seized Assets Handed Over to Tamil Nadu Government
Bengaluru: Nearly 27 kilograms of gold ornaments, including golden crowns and a gold sword, once owned by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa, have been handed over to the Tamil Nadu government by a special court in Karnataka. These assets were seized as part of a long-running disproportionate assets case and had been stored in the Karnataka state treasury for nearly 21 years.
The treasure trove includes 481 gold items, a golden ornament resembling Jayalalithaa’s profile, documents for over 1,520 acres of land, and some cash. The items were seen being carried out in bags, suitcases, and trunks by officials.
The disproportionate assets case, which spanned 18 years, was moved to Bengaluru from Chennai. Jayalalithaa and three others, including her close aide VK Sasikala and relatives VN Sudhakaran and J Ilavarasi, were convicted by a special court in Bengaluru in 2014. Although the Karnataka High Court acquitted them in 2015, the Supreme Court reversed this decision in 2017.
On January 29, a special CBI court ordered the transfer of Jayalalithaa’s confiscated assets to the Tamil Nadu government. A petition filed by Jayalalithaa’s niece and nephew, J Deepa and J Deepak, claiming ownership of the items, was dismissed by the Supreme Court, which ruled that her death did not equate to acquittal from the charges.
Public prosecutor Kiran S Javali stated that the Tamil Nadu government could either deposit the gold with the Reserve Bank of India or auction it to recover funds. Additionally, a luxury bus located in Chennai was also seized as part of the proceedings.
News Source : “Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.”
