The death of former former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa last year has sent her close aide Sasikala's fortunes on a downward spiral.
From her conviction along with two relatives in the disproportionate assets case to losing control over the AIADMK government, Sasikala's family has hit a rough patch. It's also facing the heat with more court cases and raids.
Key members of her family include Sasikala's husband M Natarajan, nephews T TV Dinakaran and V N Sudhagaran, her brother Divakaran, and her deceased brother's wife J Ilavarasi.
So far, seven of her family members are facing a jail sentence and court cases against other family members are in the advanced stages of hearing. Sasikala, her sister-in-law Ilavarasi and her nephew VN Sudhakaran were sentenced to four-year imprisonment in the Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case in February when the Supreme Court upheld the trial court verdict.
The apex court ruling coincided with the rebellion led by her one-time loyalist O Panneerselvam. This saw her being sidelined in the party and the government, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi actively backing it.
On Friday, Sasikala's ailing husband M Natarajan, who underwent a dual-organ transplant last month, was sentenced to two years in jail along with his nephew V Bhaskaran and three others in a luxury car import case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation charged Natarajan and four others for importing a Lexus car in 1994 by declaring it as a used car to evade an import duty of Rs 1.6 crore.
Sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran's sister Sreedaladevi and her husband Bhaskaran were also convicted in a disproportionate assets case.
Dinakaran has been asked by the ED to pay a fine of Rs 28 crore for violation of rules governing foreign exchanges. The move has now been confirmed by Madras HC.
To compound their woes, the Sasikala family is facing a new trouble through the Income Tax searches that were conducted on 187 premises across the country, unearthing documents showing undisclosed investments to the tune of Rs 1,430 crore.
