Jayalalithaa’s niece allegedly manhandled by Sasikala’s family at Poes

Chennai, June 11 (PTI): In a drama involving the relatives of late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, her niece J Deepa today alleged that she was manhandled by the security guards at her aunt’s residence and blamed her brother Deepak and AIADMK chief V K Sasikala’s family for “orchestrating” the entire episode. Deepa, who claimed that she had been receiving death threats for the past few days, said she was contemplating initiating legal action against Deepak and Sasikala’s family for the “attack” on her. Claiming that she visited Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence at Deepak’s invitation, Deepa accused her brother of “colluding” with AIADMK (Amma) chief V K Sasikala and her deputy T T V Dhinakaran in “orchestrating today’s incidents”. Deepa, the leader of the MGR Amma Deepa Peravai, also alleged that Deepak had “connived” with Sasikala to “plot” Jayalalithaa’s death, adding that she could prove it. She also claimed to be in possession of the documents related to the Poes Garden property. Sources in the AIADMK Amma camp, who were present at Poes Garden, denied Deepa’s allegation that she was attacked. According to them, Deepa’s visit was not scheduled and she wanted to garland a portrait of her late aunt, which was kept in the front porch of the sprawling house. She was allowed to garland the portrait after which she wanted to enter the house, which was not permitted, they said. Deepa said she could identify those who “manhandled” her. She alleged that the crew of a TV channel was also attacked by the guards at Poes Garden. Deepa was seen engaged in a heated argument with her brother. Her husband Madhavan was by her side. Deepak was present when Deepa arrived at Poes Garden. Deepa said she had sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the situation. However, he has been claiming for long that he and his sister are the “legal heirs” of Jayalalithaa’s ‘Veda Nilayam’ residence, located at the posh Poes Garden locality here. Meanwhile, some reporters alleged that they were “stopped” from covering Deepa’s visit to Poes Garden.