Bangalore: A Bangalore court on Saturday adjourned Sasikala Natarajan's hearing in the disproportionate assests case involving her former chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minsiter J Jayalalithaa till February 23. The former aide of the CM broke down in court during her questioning. This was the first time she was being questioned in the disproportionate assets case.
Sasikala claimed that Jayalalithaa was not involved in the case. "Jayalalithaa is not involved in the affairs of partnership. I alone operated the bank account. Jaya was a partner but not involved in affairs. I take blame for some of the things," she said in court. Jayalalithaa had expelled Sasikala and her relatives from the AIADMK in December 2011.
Sasikala was a close confidante of Jayalalithaa for several years. A former video parlour operator, Sasikala quickly became close to the AIADMK supremo in the '90s.
The trial of the disproportionate assets case, allegedly involving accumulation of assets worth over Rs 66 crore between 1991 and 1996 by Jayalalithaa and her aides, was shifted earlier to Bangalore by the apex court on the latter's fears that she might be denied a fair trial in Tamil Nadu due to state's erstwhile DMK government which she had accused of implicating her in false cases.
The apex court had on September 12 dismissed Jayalalithaa's plea for exemption from personal appearance owing to threat perception.
She had further submitted that she was apprehensive of a hostile atmosphere in Bangalore from organisations like the "Al Mun Thameen Force" which had vowed to avenge the killing of its cadre Imam Ali and others in an encounter with the Tamil Nadu police in Bangalore during 2002.
Besides, she said there were a number of other threat perceptions to her.
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