Kodanad estate case: Supreme Court dismisses petition seeking CBI probe into robbery, murder

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking a CBI probe into the Kodanad estate case. The petition was filed by social activist KR Ramaswamy. [caption id=“attachment_5267381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Supreme Court of India. AP[/caption] On 14 January, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief MK Stalin urged Governor Banwarilal Purohit for an investigation into the controversial Kodanad estate robbery case. “We have met the Governor and have given a petition. We have demanded that an investigation team should be set up and there should be an unbiased investigation. We have also urged the Governor to bring the issue to the notice of President,” Stalin said. A court in Tamil Nadu’s Udhagamandalam on Thursday directed two accused in the Kodanad heist and murder case to appear before it on 29 January on a plea by the police to cancel their bail. When the petition by the investigating officer came up for hearing before district Judge P Vadamalai, the government pleader argued that the accused, Sayan and Manoj were hampering the probe by giving statements on the case. Samuel Mathew, former Tehelka managing editor had on 11 January released a 16-minute video in which the two accused in the case, had allegedly linked chief minister K Palaniswami to the case. The Madras High Court on Wednesday issued an interim injunction restraining a former magazine editor and six others from making any statement linking Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswami to the Kodanad estate break-in case . On 23 April, 2017, the security guard of the Kodanad estate, the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s retreat home in Nilgiris district, was murdered in a robbery attempt by a 10-member gang.