House-hunt for Sasikala ahead of release, under-construction building opposite Veda Nilayam not ruled out

However, it is not clear if the bungalow will be ready before her release on January 27 from Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru. Her family is also considering 5 to 6 different locations for her to stay once she returns to Chennai, according to her team. The 9-ground plus property at No 95, Poes Garden, registered in the name of Hari Chandana Real Estate Pvt Ltd, in which Sasikala is believed to be shareholder, was used as a parking lot for VIPs coming to visit late AIADMK supremo and former chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, who was residing at Veda Nilayalam with Sasikala.

In August last year, the I-T department took over the property, where a house for Sasikala was being constructed under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Prohibition Act, 1988.

"As most of the other business firms, which were attached by the I-T department, are still continuing their routine business without any hassle, there will not be any restrictions for her to stay in the new bungalow," noted a source close to her family.

"We will know about her plans only when she is released from jail on January 27. For more than 10 months, nobody had met her because of the lockdown restrictions for visitors at the prison. Though Tamil Nadu has started allowing visitors to prisons on Pongal Day, the Karnataka prison is yet to allow visitors," the source added.

It may be recalled that in February 2017, Sasikala was sent to jail, along with her sister-in-law J Elavarasi and nephew VN Sudhagaran, to serve fouryear imprisonment in the infamous Rs 66.65-crore disproportionate assets case in which Jayalalithaa was also convicted. The conviction was later set aside following her death in December 2016.