Dinakaran taken back to Delhi

Some of the members of the special Delhi police team had already left the city after grilling Dinakaran, his wife Anuradha, and former PWD official Mohan on Friday. They have taken along with them the documents seized here during the investigation. The remaining officers along with Dinakaran left for Delhi by a late evening flight. 

During the questioning here, the team was also believed to have interrogated a few hawala agents to trace the money trail after the arrest of hawala operator Naresh in New Delhi on Friday. Earlier, the team identified 16 persons, including five from Chennai, to be the prime suspects in illegally transferring money. It is revealed that the team has traced a few more persons who were aiding in money transfer. 

A day after bringing Dinakaran from Delhi and conducting searches at his residence here, the Crime Branch police personnel also grilled some others who allegedly had knowledge about the money transaction, police sources said. 

Dinakaran was arrested on April 25 in Delhi following four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe an unidentified EC official to get the undivided AIADMK’s ‘Two Leaves’ election symbol for his faction. The police had earlier arrested Sukesh Chandrasekar, who had allegedly struck a deal for Rs 50 crore to help the AIADMK (Amma) faction keep the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol, and seized Rs 1.30 crore from him. A Delhi court granted five days police custody of Dinakaran following which he was brought here. 

The Delhi police after questioning the suspects asked some of them to appear again at the Central Government Office Complex, ‘Rajaji Bhawan,’ at Besant Nagar here. Besides, the police team visited various areas, including Adambakkam and Kolapakkam here, to question some persons, whose identity had not been disclosed. Sources said evidence was being gathered to sequence the Chennai-Delhi money trail, its alleged link to Dinakaran, how cash was routed through alleged hawala operators, including Faisal and Naresh. 

The latter was arrested on Saturday. Besides the physical aspect involving transfer, the source of the money, proof for cash transfer, and related transactions were being looked into. With the arrest of Naresh, it was now only about “joining the dots” and the Delhi police were trying to conclude the probe ahead of producing Dinakaran before a court in the national capital when his five-day custody ends, the sources added.