AIADMK leader Sasikala heads to jail over graft

AFP, CHENNAI, India: Disgraced Indian politician VK Sasikala prepared Wednesday to hand herself over to begin a four-year jail term for corruption, days before she had been due to become chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
Sasikala set off by car from her base in the southern state’s capital Chennai to Bangalore where she will serve her sentence, a day after judges found her guilty of illegally amassing assets worth $10 million.
Flanked by scores of supporters, Sasikala first paid an emotional tribute at a memorial to her long-time mentor Jayalalithaa Jayaram, Tamil Nadu’s chief minister and a co-accused in the case before she died in December.
Sasikala could be seen pounding Jayalalitha’s memorial with her palms and battling to hold back tears before being driven away in a SUV in the middle of a motorcade at the start of the 350-kilometre (220 mile) trip.
Earlier in the day India’s top court rejected a plea to allow Sasikala more time before surrendering to authorities to begin the sentence, which has barred her from running from public office for a decade.
The 59-year-old had been anointed as Jayalalithaa’s successor by the state’s dominant party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. It had been expected she would be sworn in later this week until Tuesday’s bombshell verdict.
The sentence brought a dramatic halt to the former video parlour saleswoman’s meteoric rise. She was on the cusp of becoming the leader of one of India’s most populous and prosperous states. Sasikala had been involved in a bitter battle with acting chief minister, O Panneerselvam, who had been trying to block her ascent.
But before Tuesday’s ruling she appeared to have won enough support to be sworn in by the state assembly this week. She skipped Tuesday’s court hearing, instead stayed at a resort in the state capital Chennai with several dozen legislators over fears that Panneerselvam’s camp might try and poach them before her investiture.
The corruption case dates back to the late 1990s, when Jayalalithaa and Sasikala were accused of profiting from the chief minister’s office and acquiring wealth beyond their income.
They were jointly accused of illegally amassing assets including bungalows, luxury cars, tea estates and nearly 30 kilogrammes (66 pounds) of gold worth around 660 million rupees, equivalent to around $10 million.

AIADMK leader Sasikala heads to jail over graft

AFP, CHENNAI, India: Disgraced Indian politician VK Sasikala prepared Wednesday to hand herself over to begin a four-year jail term for corruption, days before she had been due to become chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Sasikala set off by car from her base in the southern states capital Chennai to Bangalore where she will serve her sentence, a day after judges found her guilty of illegally amassing assets worth $10 million. Flanked by scores of supporters, Sasikala first paid an emotional tribute at a memorial to her long-time mentor Jayalalithaa Jayaram, Tamil Nadus chief minister and a co-accused in the case before she died in December. Sasikala could be seen pounding Jayalalithas memorial with her palms and battling to hold back tears before being driven away in a SUV in the middle of a motorcade at the start of the 350-kilometre (220 mile) trip. Earlier in the day Indias top court rejected a plea to allow Sasikala more time before surrendering to authorities to begin the sentence, which has barred her from running from public office for a decade. The 59-year-old had been anointed as Jayalalithaas successor by the states dominant party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. It had been expected she would be sworn in later this week until Tuesdays bombshell verdict. The sentence brought a dramatic halt to the former video parlour saleswomans meteoric rise. She was on the cusp of becoming the leader of one of Indias most populous and prosperous states. Sasikala had been involved in a bitter battle with acting chief minister, O Panneerselvam, who had been trying to block her ascent. But before Tuesdays ruling she appeared to have won enough support to be sworn in by the state assembly this week. She skipped Tuesdays court hearing, instead stayed at a resort in the state capital Chennai with several dozen legislators over fears that Panneerselvams camp might try and poach them before her investiture. The corruption case dates back to the late 1990s, when Jayalalithaa and Sasikala were accused of profiting from the chief ministers office and acquiring wealth beyond their income. They were jointly accused of illegally amassing assets including bungalows, luxury cars, tea estates and nearly 30 kilogrammes (66 pounds) of gold worth around 660 million rupees, equivalent to around $10 million.