Kodanad Heist and Murder Case: SIT to Question Jayalalithaa’s Ex-PSO Today

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Tamil Nadu’s CB-CID is intensifying its probe into the 2017 Kodanad heist and murder case, with plans to interrogate Perumal, a former personal security officer (PSO) of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, on Wednesday. Hailing from Bhavani in Erode district, Perumal is the latest of over 200 individuals questioned in this high-profile investigation.

The Kodanad estate, a sprawling property owned by Jayalalithaa, became a crime scene on April 23, 2017, when a gang of 11, allegedly led by Jayalalithaa’s former driver C. Kanagaraj, broke into the bungalow. Believing crores of rupees were stashed there, the heavily armed group arrived in two cars, overpowered security guard Krishna Thapa at Gate No. 8, and killed another guard, Om Bahadur, near Gate No. 10. They looted valuables before fleeing, leaving a trail of violence.

The case took a murky turn with subsequent deaths. Kanagaraj died in a road accident near Attur days later, while Sayan, another key accused from Kerala, survived a crash near Palakkad that killed his wife and daughter. In July 2017, Dinesh Kumar, a 29-year-old Kodanad computer operator, was found dead in Kotagiri, ruled a suicide by police—the fourth mysterious fatality linked to the case.

On Tuesday, another ex-PSO, Veeraperumal, faced a three-hour interrogation at the CB-CID office in Gandhipuram. He told media he served Jayalalithaa in 1991 and from 2002 to 2016, before being reassigned after her death in December 2016. His statements were recorded on video.

As the SIT digs deeper, questioning former security personnel like Perumal could unlock new insights into the complex web of events surrounding the Kodanad heist and murders, a case that continues to grip Tamil Nadu.