Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court on Thursday granted bail to All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (Amma) faction leader TTV Dinakaran and his aide Mallikarjuna in the Election Commission bribery case. The two will have to furnish personal bonds of Rs 5 lakh each and surrender their passports, reported ANI.
Dinakaran and Mallikarjuna were arrested on April 26 for allegedly bribing EC officials to get the party’s two-leaves symbol for its faction. The police had began the investigation after Dinakaran was accused of giving money to middleman Sukesh Chandrasekar, who was arrested on April 16. He was the first arrested in the case and was found to have finalised a Rs 50-crore deal to help the AIADMK (Amma) camp secure the “two leaves” symbol. Officers had seized Rs 1.30 crore from him when he was arrested from a five-star hotel in Delhi on April 16. Chandrasekar is in judicial custody till May 12.
Dinakaran, jailed AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala’s nephew and the party’s deputy chief, is facing accusations of allegedly arranging for the money from undisclosed sources and transferring it to Delhi from Chennai using illegal means. Mallikarjuna was arrested for allegedly helping Dinakaran make the transfer, the police said. Dinakaran’s wife, suspected hawala operator Nathu Singh and others believed to have links to the case were also questioned about illegal channels used to send money to Delhi from Chennai.
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