Kodanad heist-cum-murder case: Gujarat forensic team to visit TN on Jan 26

CHENNAI: A team of experts from the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Gujarat, Gandhinagar, will arrive in Tamil Nadu on January 26, to examine the Call Detail Records (CDRs) used by accused persons in the Kodanad heist-cum-murder case.

“Eight mobile phones and five SIM cards used by culprits in the Kodanad case were seized by the CB-CID police. After an analysis, the officials of the forensic laboratory in Coimbatore managed to retrieve some deleted vital data including photos and messages from those mobile phones. The recovered information has been compiled into an 8,000 page report,” said an official privy to investigation.

Even though BSNL authorities claimed to have a facility to store data only for two years, the expert team from Gujarat may examine the possibility of retrieving older data for the purpose of investigation.

In a further development in the case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CB-CID has issued summons to key accused K V Sayan, a native of Thrissur district in Kerala, to appear for questioning before the SIT’s temporary office on the Police Recruits School (PRS) campus in Coimbatore on January 11 for an inquiry in connection with some fresh findings of the police.

The SIT had sent the CDRs of over 30 mobile numbers, which were obtained in magnetic tape format from BSNL’s Tiruchy office, to the NFSU for examination in February last year.

On January 6, 2024, the public prosecutor Shahjahan stated that 19 cell phone towers and 60 SIM card records were sent to a laboratory in Gujarat through the court, and the top officials went to Gujarat to examine the progress. Shahjahan had added that further probe on the case will be based on after retrieving details from the magnetic tapes.

The Kodanad Estate, spread across 906 acres, belonged to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her confidante V K Sasikala. The heist-cum-murder incident took place in 2017. In the incident, one of the security guards of the estate, Om Bahadur, was murdered, and 10 watches and a crystal rhino worth Rs 42,000 were robbed.

C Kanagaraj, the main accused in the case, died in a car accident near Attur in Salem. Ten people from Kerala, including K V Sayan and Valaiyar Manoj, who were allegedly involved in this murder-cum-heist case, were arrested and later released on bail.

In September 2022, the Kodanad heist-cum-murder case was transferred to the Crime Branch-CID to expedite the case. After the case was transferred to Crime Branch, the CB-CID ADSP Murugavel was appointed as the investigating officer, and a 49-member team are investigating the case. The case has been going on for the last six years in the Utagai District Court.