ED summons TTV Dhinakaran in EC 'bribery' money laundering case

NEW DELHI: The ED has summoned AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran this week for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged bribing of Election Commission officials to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the VK Sasikala faction, officials said on Wednesday.

The move comes after the agency recently arrested jailed 'conman' and another accused in this case, Sukesh Chandrashekhar.

Both Dhinakaran and Chandrashekhar were arrested by the Delhi Police crime branch in 2017.

Officials said they have recorded the statement of Chandrashekhar in this case early this month and now they want to question Dhinakaran to take the probe forward.

The 58-year-old AMMK general secretary has been asked to depose before the agency here on April 8, they said.

His statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once he deposes.

Chandrashekar was arrested in April 2017 from a five star hotel by the Delhi Police for allegedly taking money from Dhinakaran to bribe EC officials to get the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol for the VK Sasikala faction in a by-election to the R K Nagar assembly seat in Tamil Nadu.

Dhinakaran, who was charge sheeted by the police, was also arrested by the Delhi Police after four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe EC officials for the symbol.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of the then Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who represented the assembly seat.

The EC had frozen the AIADMK's symbol after the two factions -- one led by Dhinakaran's aunt Sasikala and the other by former chief minister O Panneerselvam -- staked a claim to it.

Dhinakaran's close aide Mallikarjuna was also arrested for allegedly facilitating a Rs 50 crore deal between him and Chandrashekar.

Dhinakaran was the treasurer of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and was expelled from the party in August 2017 along with Jayalalithaa's confidante Sasikala.

He later launched his political party called the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK).