Rs 50 crore for AIADMK symbol: How police tracked the TTV deal

It was a high profile case which mandated a special team to be formed. The Crime Branch of the Delhi police learnt that there were attempts on to allegedly bribe officials in the Election Commission of India in the wake of the symbol row within the AIADMK between the Sasikala and O Panneerselvam factions.

It is the claim of the Delhi police that Sasikala Natarajan's nephew, T T V Dinakaran was ready to pay up to Rs 50 crore to buy the Two Leaves symbol of the AIADMK. Both the OPS and Sasikala camps had staked a claim for the symbol and the Election Commission of India had decided to freeze the same ahead of the R K Nagar by-election which was countermanded after charges of corruption emerged.

Delhi police sources say that it was on the basis of an intercept that they were able to track the deal that was being struck. An alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekhar was arrested from the Hyatt hotel on Sunday night. Rs 1.3 crore was recovered from him. Sources confirmed that the total amount that was to be paid to the EC officials was Rs 50 crore.

A special team under Joint Commissioner Praveer Ranjan has been formed. The special team comprising officials of the inter-state cell of the crime branch will now ask Dinakaran to join the probe.

The police have however not found any evidence against any official of the Election Commission of India. The police say that they had questioned Sukesh, but he had not revealed any name. On Sukesh the 27 year old accused, the police say that he is a known con-man and had cheated a politician in the past. He owns a fleet of luxury cars, the police also added.

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