Earlier this week, VK Sasikala was formally released after spending four years in a Bengaluru jail in a corruption case.
Expelled AIADMK leader and a close aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, VK Sasikala was today discharged from hospital in Bengaluru where she was admitted a few days ago with fever and after experiencing breathlessness. The leader had later tested positive for the coronavirus.
As she was wheel-chaired out today a little after 12.30 pm, a huge gathering of her supporters was observed at the hospital. When Sasikala was brought out, the crowd burst into slogans and cheers. She acknowledged them with folded hands before getting into a car that drove her away.
According to the sources quoted by news agency PTI, her family has decided to take her to Chennai.
The PTI report said that over 300 police personnel were deployed in the hospital area to ensure law and order, police said.
Earlier this week, VK Sasikala was formally released after spending four years in a Bengaluru jail in a corruption case. The 66-years old politician was released from the Central Jail in Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara after jail officials completed the formalities at the hospital.
In the Rs 66 crore disproportionate assets case, Sasikala was sentenced to four years in prison in 2017. Her sister-in-law J Ilavarasi and J Jayalalithaa’s foster son VN Sudhakaran were also sentenced in the same case.
Sasikala’s release comes a few months before the highly anticipated assembly elections in the state. Just six days before the date of her release, she tested positive for coronavirus.
Sasikala, at the height of her power, was a hugely influential force within the AIADMK. She can emerge as a key player in the upcoming elections if she can rediscover even some of that influence.
Mr Palaniswami, however, has ruled out talk of Sasikala’s re-entry into the ruling AIADMK, which is reportedly under pressure from its ally the BJP.
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