Preferential treatment case: NBW against Sasikala

The Lokayukta Special Court, on Monday, issued NBW against Sasikala and Ilavarasi, who are currently on bail, besides ordering to issue notice to sureties.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s aide VK Sasikala. 

BENGALURU: VK Sasikala, a close aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J Jayalalithaa, and her sister-in-law Ilavarasi have been issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) by the Lokayukta Special Court, which is hearing the case related to alleged ‘preferential treatment’ received by them while serving sentence in the disproportionate assets case.

The Lokayukta Special Court, on Monday, issued NBW against Sasikala and Ilavarasi, who are currently on bail, besides ordering to issue notice to sureties. The hearing has been adjourned till October 5.

Sasikala and Ilavarasi were named accused no. 5 and 6, respectively, in a case which was registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in 2018. The ACB had booked the accused persons under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Among the six accused, the Karnataka High Court, in May early this year, quashed the proceedings against three accused, who were officials of the Bengaluru Central Prison, where Sasikala and Ilavarasi were lodged from 2017 to 2021. In June, Sasikala had also approached the High Court, requesting quashing of the proceedings against her.

As Sasikala and Ilavarasi failed to appear before the Lokayukta Special Court, which is hearing the case, despite issuing a summons, the court issued NBW against them on Monday.

It may be recalled that senior IPS officer D Roopa had exposed that the staff of Bengaluru Central Prison had extended ‘VIP treatment’ to Sasikala and Ilavarasi, who were serving jail sentences in a multi-crore disproportionate assets case.