Chennai: Deepa Jayakumar, the niece of J Jayalalithaa, was not allowed to enter the house of the former Chief Minister in posh Poes Garden. Deepa, who recently floated her own party, said she had been invited to her aunt's home by her brother Deepak. But when she reached there, she was stopped and roughed up by private security guards. A cameraperson who was accompanying her was also assaulted.
Her supporters staged a protest, alleging that she had been not allowed to enter the premises by the supporters of TTV Dinakaran, the nephew of VK Sasikala. “I would not even have come here had he not repeatedly insisted. This is a conspiracy by Deepak, acting on behalf of Sasikala,'' she said. Deepa said Deepak had "conspired with Sasikala to kill my aunt Jayalalithaa". "Jayalalithaa was like a mother to him, but for the sake of money, he turned against her and killed her," she said.
Deepa's husband Madhavan also made an appearance and the couple claimed there was a threat to their lives from what they called "musclemen" employed by Sasikala. After Jayalalithaa's death, Deepa had floated her own party MGR Amma Deepa Peravai in February. She also claims to be legal heir of the property that belonged to the former Chief Minister. The two were estranged when Jayalalithaa was alive. It was only when her aunt was in hospital that Deepa made an appearance and said she wanted to meet Jayalalithaa, but was not allowed to do so.
Poes Garden was a property inherited by Jayalalithaa from her mother Sandhya. There has been no news so far of any will that she left. After her death, her live-in aide Sasikala had continued to live at Poes Garden, till her arrest in February. Sasikala is in jail after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction in the disproportionate wealth case. There have been demands from the rival O Panneerselvam camp that the house be converted into a memorial.
